Midea conference highlights its V8 VRF system

DUBAI, UAE, 1 June 2022: Midea launched the VRF V8 series as a major global initiative, citing Dubai as the best place to demonstrate the toughness and reliability of the system in facing up to sandy and dusty conditions and to high relative humidity and high temperatures. It said the V8 can work in temperatures ranging from 55 degrees C to minus 30 degrees C, making it ideal for operations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, characterised by high temperatures, including higher ground temperatures.

Henry Cheng, General Manager, Midea Building Technologies, said the V8, which will go into production this month, is about reliability. “We want the product to be more reliable, so there is no need to repair it or spend that much time on maintenance,” he said. He spoke of the V8 having innovative features, including its shield box, which protects the incorporated printer circuit board (PCB) from getting affected by the outside environment, including sand, dust and moisture. “Water will damage the PCB, if it touches,” he said. “The PCB is in an isolated space, and no water will touch it. So, it can work safely for a longer time.”

Speaking on the other features, Cheng highlighted the V8’s hyperlink approach to connecting the wires. Elaborating on how in the past, installers had to connect the wires in series, he highlighted the inherent disadvantage of that approach, where if one unit stopped working, the entire system would stop working. The V8, he said, allows for the wires to be connected with greater flexibility, which improves reliability, eases the installation process and helps installers save time. A third feature of the V8, he said, is the high degree of comfort it allows through its constant airflow. “No matter where you are in the building, the airflow is constant,” he said.

Cheng also spoke of the V8 having 19 sensors and a visual sensor technology. If the real sensors stop working, the machine will duplicate to give virtual sensors – digital twin – which will continue the sensing process and simultaneously send a message to the maintenance personnel informing them of a problem with the real sensors for them to rectify. “This way, the system is able to work 24×7, so there is no shut down problem,” he said. He also spoke of the V8 featuring the ‘Midea Doctor 2.0, which would allow for using cloud for self-diagnosis. “So, with the V8, we have many leading technologies in the industry,” he said. “With the V8, we are the leader in the product.”

Addressing the issue of aftersales service, Cheng said Midea works closely with its partners, including Taqeef, which he added has a strong aftersales capability, including training and service centres.

“We also support our partners in increasing their aftersales service,” he said. “We have our technical engineers to support Taqeef, and we provide funds to partners to improve their service capability. As Midea we also have the TSP feature, and so partners can place orders for spare parts through the TSP and also through the cloud. So, we are enhancing our capabilities on aftersales. But, if we have a highly reliable product, you don’t need as much aftersales. We use high-end components, so we have fewer problems, and we would need less aftersales service.”

Cheng said Midea would continue to invest in the GCC region. But when asked if the company has plans to open a factory in the Middle East, he said it does not have any at the moment. “We have to look at the right partners and at the policies from the government,” he said. “We have had a discussion on this with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.

Tariq Al Ghussein, CEO, Taqeef, speaking on Midea’s global growth, said that the very fact that the company has changed its name from Midea CAC to Midea Building Technologies reflects its ambition to provide comprehensive solutions to the building construction industry, including HVAC and elevators, to name two. “They want to supply all the components and software,” he said. “They continue to surprise us with how fast they are moving.”

The V8 features the refrigerant, R-410a, whereas it has R-32 for mini VRF systems. To a question about the possible use of refrigerants other than the two, considering that R-410a has a GWP of 2,088 and is facing calls from certain quarters for its phaseout and that R32 is classified as an A2L refrigerant, owing to its mildly flammable nature, requiring safety in handling, Cheng said Midea is one of the biggest manufacturers in the world and that the company is looking at all possibilities and will need to see the trend. “Different manufacturers are promoting different gases, and there are debates on regulation,” he said. “We will be ready once there is clarity.”

To a question about the global semiconductor crisis, and Midea’s response to dealing with the problem, Cheng said the shortage of chips is a global problem and one that affects all sectors and not just the HVACR sector. “From our perspective, we have learnt that we have to develop strategic partners on key components and to also strengthen our own capability,” he said. “And in China, we have set up our own chip factories in a small scale, and now we are accelerating to a big scale. We will enhance our capability in this area. There are many newcomers, who are planning to manufacture chips, and I think the problem will be solved very soon.”

GrayWolf announces introducing smart IAQ and toxic gas probes

SHELTON, Connecticut, 12 July 2021: GrayWolf’s DirectSense II probes will now connect via Bluetooth LE wireless to Apple and Android devices, the company announced through a Press release.

GrayWolf said it DSII probes for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and toxic gas testing and monitoring will imminently have Apps for iOS and Android operating systems available free on the Apple and Google App stores. It added that it is possible to use a smartphone or tablet as a multi-parameter display or data-logger.

The company said that users can choose from over 25 smart IAQ, green building, industrial hygiene and HVAC sensors, including TVOCs (PID), Carbon Dioxide (NDIR), Ozone (electrochemical), CO, NO2, NH3, SO2, NO, Cl2, H2S, HCN, HCl, O2, H2, %RH and °C/°F. Each probe, the company said, accommodates from two up to eight true plug-and-play sensors into a single handheld, desktop or wall-mounted housing. The sensors offer low limits of detection and exceptional accuracy, the company claimed, adding that the CO2 sensor, for example, leads the IAQ industry at +/-35ppm over the key range, starting from 350ppm to 2000ppm (while +/-3% of reading above that up to 10,000ppm for CO2 toxic exposure use).

As monitoring IAQ parameters is a core application for GrayWolf, extensive development effort was put into assuring that the sensor smartboards would not introduce noise or degrade accuracy, stability or limits of detection (LODs) for the convenience of end-user swappable sensors, the company said. Other manufacturers, it pointed out, have prioritized convenience over performance.

Belimo damper actuators get UL 2043 certification

DANBURY, Connecticut, United States, 13 June 2021: Belimo said its damper actuators and most of the valve actuators and sensors meet UL 2043 requirements. The National Electrical Code Section 300.22 (c), in the United States, requires electrical devices in plenums to be tested to UL 2043 for low smoke generation. Underwriters Laboratories’ UL 2043 is the standard for fire test for heat and visible smoke release for discrete products installed in air-handling spaces, Belimo said, adding that its products, used for installation in air-handling spaces, meet UL 2043 standard for heat and smoke release. By complying with the UL 2043 requirements, Belimo said, its products have demonstrated the following characteristics:

• A peak rate of heat release of 100 kW or less
• A peak normalized optical density of 0.50 or less
• An average normalized optical density of 0.15 or less

Carrier launches Abound

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida, 27 April 2021: Carrier Global Corporation on April 26 launched Abound, which it described in a Press release as a new cloud-native platform, as part of its growing investment in digital solutions designed to give people confidence in the health and safety of their indoor environments. Abound is an open-technology platform that aggregates data from different systems and sensors and provides building owners, operators and occupants transparency into relevant and contextual insights about air quality, thermal comfort and other performance data, the company said.

“Abound will transform a building owner’s ability to optimize the indoor environment, boosting the confidence of each visitor and occupant,” said Dave Gitlin, Chairman & CEO, Carrier. “The access to real-time actionable data for indoor air quality and other building systems and sensors embodies the future of building health and performance for customers around the globe. With this launch, we are moving closer to establishing industry standards that will provide owners, operators and occupants greater confidence in their indoor spaces.”

According to Carrier, Abound is a cloud-native offering that uses advanced technology to make building environments more intelligent, efficient and responsive. It connects directly to existing building systems and sensors with no need for upgrades, retrofitting or replacements. And, unlike other building management platforms, Abound is designed to easily work with all systems regardless of manufacturer, to unlock and unite siloed data to provide more powerful, actionable insights, Carrier claimed. The platform can be rapidly installed and scaled and showcases data on a single pane of glass and via remote readings, the company added.

According to Carrier, a hallmark feature of the platform is the ability for building operators to benchmark building performance related to air quality, ventilation and humidity against the thresholds identified by certain air features within the WELL Building Standard (WELL) from the International WELL Building Institute, which works for achieving healthy buildings. Building owners will have the ability to display real-time information and messaging about a building’s health through the Abound application programming interface (API), which can be used to create digital wallboards and support mobile experiences, Carrier said.

“We’re proud that the thresholds in the Abound platform are based on the WELL Building Standard’s air quality features, helping Carrier to make something as invisible as air quality more visible and actionable,” said Rachel Hodgdon, IWBI’s President and CEO. “This platform will help streamline pathways for customers to measure, communicate and report their progress toward WELL Certification, advancing IWBI’s overall mission to advance people first places around the world.”

According to Carrier, Abound is currently being piloted across the United States, with customers in the commercial building, K-12 education and sports and entertainment industries, including Trust Park, home to the Atlanta Braves. It is also operating at Carrier’s world headquarters and building technology showcase, the Center for Intelligent Buildings in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

“We are thrilled to participate in the pilot of the Abound platform to give fans a safer and more informed spectator experience,” said Jim Allen, Senior Vice President of Corporate and Premium Partnerships for the Atlanta Braves. “The visual displays strategically placed throughout the stadium will provide our guests a real-time look at how our systems are working together to improve air quality. Sports bring people together, and the game just isn’t the same without our incredible fans here at the ballpark and we’re excited to welcome them back.”

While a tool for building owners, Abound was designed with building occupants and the general public in mind, Carrier said. It will make the invisible – air quality – visible through a smart, simple interface, and using its API and responsive display generators, building owners can communicate building health strategies, health performance metrics or the live indoor air quality summary through in-building digital displays, mobile applications or existing digital experiences.

“The launch of Abound underscores Carrier’s leadership in digital innovation and ability to move quickly to exceed our customers’ needs,” said Bobby George, Senior Vice President & Chief Digital Officer, Carrier. “The platform came together in a fraction of a year, and I couldn’t be prouder of the team. Abound’s platform architecture was designed around open standards and modern cloud native technologies and can quickly adapt to a wide range of integration and connectivity and scaling needs. The platform is comprehensive and delivers value to our customers through the complete integration of software, hardware and digital analytics.”

‘A gas leak becomes evident only after the system runs out of it’

CORNAREDO, Milan, Italy, 12 February 2021: One of the weak points in a gas detection system, especially in refrigeration applications, is that it is almost impossible to detect a small leakage in the plantroom. Dr Giacomo Frigo, Founder & Managing Director, Sensitron, said this, adding that the management realises the leakage only when there is no more gas in the system.

Dr Frigo pointed out to how hotel chains have started installing fire detectors to be able to assure guests that no accidents will occur in their hotel room. Much in the same way, he said, the right step forward would be to install gas detectors that give out a warning much before an alarm does, to improve the management of a gas detection system.

Hand in hand with installation is the maintenance of the detectors, he said. In Sensitron, for instance, we have adopted the NDIR technology in all our detectors, which he said is a bit more costly than the MOS technology. The additional cost, he added, is worth it, because the alarm value from the detector is much more stable and accurate. As a result, he further added, the period of checking and recalibration of the detector practically is three time longer than that of other systems.

Posifa introduces new air velocity sensors

San Jose, California, 14 May 2019: Posifa Technologies on May 9 introduced its new PAV1000 series of air velocity sensors for data center thermal management and HVAC applications, such as filter monitoring. Announcing this through a Press communiqué, the company said the devices, which measure air velocity at 7 m/s (PAV1005V) and 15 m/s (PAV1015V), offer extremely fast response times of 125 ms, typical in a compact, robust package.

According to the communiqué, the PAV1000 series was designed as an economical, high-performance air velocity sensor for thermal management and filter monitoring in even the most space-constrained locations, such as rack enclosures with air cooling in data centers. Unlike thermistor-based solutions, the Posifa MEMS sensor core is minimally affected by ambient temperature changes and provides instant real-time feedback on proper air flow at critical locations.

According to the communiqué, air velocity data perfectly complements temperature information to provide the best insight into thermal efficiency. By identifying areas that require unusually high air flow to maintain stable temperatures, the communiqué said, layouts can be modified to reduce cooling demands for increased energy savings. In HVAC applications, the communiqué added, air velocity measurements can be used to determine when filters need to be replaced. This, the communiqué further added, ensures hardware is adequately protected during heavy use, while allowing customers with light usage requirements to benefit from extended change intervals.

According to the communiqué, the devices feature Posifa’s third-generation thermal flow die, which uses a pair of thermopiles to detect changes in temperature gradient caused by mass flow. The result is excellent repeatability of one per cent FS and accuracy of five per cent FS, the communiqué said. The solid-state thermal isolation structure on the sensor die eliminates the need for a surface cavity or fragile membrane used in competing technologies, making the sensor resistant to clogging and pressure shock, the communiqué added. 

According to the communiqué, the PAV1000 series offers an output voltage range from 0 VDC to 4.5 VDC, supply voltage from 5 VDC to 5.5 VDC, and supply current of 20 mA. The devices, the communiqué said, operate over a -25 °C to +85 °C temperature range.