Leading players from the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) industry will highlight the market’s current trends, challenges and best practices and products, at a key seminar in Jeddah.

The HVACR Expo Saudi 2017, the country’s largest dedicated air-handling and refrigeration event, will be held at the Jeddah Centre for Forums and Events from January 15 to 17.

More than 80 exhibitors will showcase their cutting edge products and technology at the show. There will also be a series of live demonstrations to enable visitors to try out new, state-of-the-art products.

Visitors will be able to attend a series of compelling workshops curated by trusted international experts who will share their insight into some of the pressing issues facing the industry, said the organisers.

Through 15 free and continuous personal development (CPD)-certified workshops, the delegates will get a unique opportunity to learn and network with fellow professionals and keep up-to-date with the very latest trends and schools of thought, they stated.

Visitors can earn CPD points by attending the workshops and will be able to collect their certificates after the show, they added.

Almost a thousand people attended the workshops in 2016 and this year’s event is expected to exceed that number.

Hot topics up for discussion include Saudi Market Access, How to Reduce Water and Energy Consumption in a Cooling Tower and HVAC Sustainability, said the organisers.

One of the most popular sessions from last year’s event and making a return in 2017 is the Future of Refrigeration presented by Albert Haykal, district cooling expert for the Middle East region for Trane, the Air Conditioning Specialists.

In the last few years, the Saudi HVAC industry has had to implement a phase-out of HCFC (ozone depleting substances) as per the Montreal Protocol, replacing them with HFCs that do not contain ozone depleting Chlorine.

"Unfortunately, the HFCs are found to be a major cause of global warming. As such, the Kigali agreement of October 2016, an extension to the Montreal Protocol, was signed by 197 nations. This agreement requires the phase out of HFCs, so reducing the global warming effect by a crucial 0.5 Deg.C," stated Haykal.

"Excessive research and development efforts have been done for replacement of low GWP refrigerants, such as HFO (Hydro-Fluor-Olefins). The presentation at HVACR Expo Saudi is about the latest update on HFO being developed and introduced for water chillers and the impact in terms of GWP, energy efficiency, flammability, safety, maintenance requirements and equipment cost," he remarked.

"It is expected that by 2030 we will be using a new spectrum of refrigerants different from what is used today in HVAC," noted Haykal.

Firas Abou Ltaif, project manager for HVACR Expo Saudi said: “Last year, the sessions on the latest refrigeration technology were some of the most popular attractions of the whole event. They became compelling forums for industry professionals to update their skills, indulge in some networking and learn. It will be exactly the same this year.

“We are privileged to be able to welcome some of the most respected and knowledgeable experts from the HVAC industry who have much to say on the challenges and opportunities the future of the industry presents,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service