Variable Refrigerant Flow Systems (VRF or VRV) News & Trends

The moment Rishi Sunak, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, stepped up to make his budget speech, the entire nation collectively held its breath. While much had been already revealed on the extended furlough scheme and the expansion of the self-employment income support scheme, the UK Chancellor had reserved some announcements for the day. UK budget offers plumbing, heating incentives The budget covered several issues of particular interest to the plumbing and heating industry, including: Exten...

Hawkes Place is a property like no other. Situated in Sevenoaks, Kent, one homeowner has created a truly unique building where every room is connected through home automation devices. Designed and built by Tony Gotts as a personal project, the three-bedroom, one-storey property was the first smart home he had built. The unique design sees each room completely curved, with no square corners in sight. With the entire house automated, including audio, lighting, heating, blinds, and front door acce...

A lot of emphasis is given to industrial heating elements and sheath materials, when discussing the electric heaters. However, equally important are the control panels for process heaters to function effectively. The control panel is a vital part of the immersion heaters to maintain stability. Failure to control the temperature may result in overheating and thereby, causing the deterioration of the medium that is being heated. Wattco makes it a point to design digital control panels for extreme...

The term ‘oil flushing’ is used extensively in the process heating industry to refer to the cleaning of pipes and process equipment. Typical applications use immersion or circulation heaters that heat oil for circulating through the system to a desirable Reynolds number. Viscosity and temperature play critical roles in such conventional oil flushing. In many process applications, conventional oil flushing is not suitable to achieve the desired cleanliness. Additional actions are nee...

Air duct heaters are commonly used in the HVAC industry. They provide supplementary heat to the delivered air inside an air-delivery duct. For heavy duty industrial applications, air duct heaters are a perfect choice. With high tensile strength cages and durable tubular heating elements, air duct heaters provide appropriate heating solutions to the power generation industry. Air duct heaters An air duct heater is an electric-resistant heater mounted inside an air-delivery duct. It comprises b...

According to the Carbon Trust, around 40% of commercial floor space is expected to be air-conditioned by 2020, compared with only 10% at the end of 1994. Demand is therefore increasing rapidly and due to this, building owners and operators are encouraged to look carefully at energy consumption, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning in particular, to see where savings can be made. The Carbon Trust also suggests that specifying a new air conditioning system should consider both user and...

AET Flexible Space signs a new distributor agreement with the Indonesian engineering and contracting company, PT Prima Solusi Jayantara. Prima Solusi Jayantara is a long-established local company with over 12 years of experience supplying and working with Chiller Control Systems, Air Conditioning, and Power Supply Systems. According to research reports, Indonesia is in a high growth region for HVACR, primarily driven by growth in the construction sector, and pioneer players are tapping into thi...

Victaulic announces the fire industry’s first Installation-Ready™ sprinkler that is ULlisted and FM-approved with the launch of its FireLock™ IGS Style V9 Sprinkler Coupling and line of FireLock™ IGS grooved sprinklers. Created to replace threads on both sprinkler outlets and sprinklers, this mechanical connection redefines sprinkler system design and installation in exposed applications, particularly the storage and warehouse market. The innovative coupling has one-bolt...

Panasonic Heating & Cooling Solutions will showcase its Cold Chain Solutions at the Annual Natural Refrigerants Virtual Trade Show ATMO, organized by Shecco, taking place 30 – 31 March 2021. As a Premium Exhibitor, Panasonic will highlight its CR Series of CO2 Condensing Units which deliver reliable and sustainable refrigeration that is safe, uses patent-free available refrigerant. Panasonic’s CO2 Refrigeration Solutions are ideal for commercial spaces such as supermarkets, gas-...

Amen Air, Inc. and YORK Factory Direct (YORK) partnered with Building Homes for Heroes during a Welcome Home ceremony in Lutz, FL. for Army Staff Sergeant Mylee Cardenas. Cardenas joined the military following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, citing her devastation over what occurred as her inspiration to serve. US Army veteran While deployed in Afghanistan, Cardenas found a lump on her breast, but did not seek medical attention as she did not want to abandon her all-female unit and t...

American Coolair Corp. introduces its mixed flow fan with a direct drive motor. The MXFD combines the high volume flow capabilities of an axial fan and the pressure capabilities of a centrifugal fan. Designed to meet ducted fan needs both economically and efficiently, these fans operate reliably in most environments, including contaminated air. Combined with a VFD, variable frequency drive, the speed of the fan can be changed to match the performance required. less maintenance, long life...

Most homes built in the United States are designed with vented attics. But why do attics need ventilation? Users might be surprised to learn that a properly ventilated attic does a lot more than let a little air in and out. No matter, if the user lives in Florida, Minnesota, a new home, or an old one, a properly ventilated attic, is a must. Here are three convincing reasons why. Cuts Energy Costs In warm climates or during the summer months, excess heat builds up in the attic. On a 9...

Underfloor air conditioning systems and HVAC systems pioneer, AET Flexible Space, has announced that the company won the title of ‘Retrofit Project of the Year’, at the H&V News Awards 2020, for its work supplying its HVAC system for the refurbishment of the 24 St James Square building, in London, United Kingdom. Underfloor AC system installation The judges commented that the project was ‘an innovative use of building services, which addressed the challenge of a historic...

Carrier Transicold has entered into a special collaboration with Scottish original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Gray & Adams to develop a demonstrator program for the new Carrier Transicold Vector® eCool™ system, showcasing the abilities of the innovative electric technology and its sustainable advantages. Carrier Transicold is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, a global provider of healthy, safe and sustainable building and cold chain solutions. The UK’s first Vector e...

Danfoss, a front-runner in the refrigeration industry, announced the newest addition to their digital service portfolio—Smart Refrigeration Solution, pioneering software originally developed by Honeywell. Smart Refrigeration Solution was created using customer requirements gathered from leading food retailers looking to reduce energy usage and improve the performance of their refrigeration system. “We are thrilled to incorporate Smart Refrigeration Solution into our Alsense™ c...

Danfoss has expanded the capabilities for Turbocor® compressors TTS and TGS with higher saturated suction temperature (SST) operating range, helping OEMs to bring the benefits of oil-free technology to data centers operating at higher space temperatures. Data center cooling temperature requirements have risen steadily in recent years, thanks to new server technology allowing them to operate at higher space temperatures—giving operators more flexibility to benefit from lower...

Johnson Controls, the globally renowned company for smart, healthy and sustainable building solutions, has announced that it has joined The Climate Pledge, a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism. Signatories of The Climate Pledge commit to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, ten years ahead of the goal set out in the United Nations' Paris Climate Agreement. The Climate Pledge Johnson Controls is one of 53 organizations that have now signed The Climate Pledge and the mov...

Victaulic, the globally renowned manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining, fire protection and flow control solutions has purchased a 220,000 square foot Waupaca manufacturing plant in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania. Enhanced Production capacity When operating at full capacity, the facility will increase Victaulic’s foundry production capacity by 70 percent in the U.S. and allow for future growth as Victaulic’s business demands increase. The facility, including two foundry molding line...

Carrier marks a new milestone in Europe with the launch of XCT7, the latest generation of Carrier Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) technology. The XCT7 systems provide unmatched advantages for customers including improved reliability, enhanced system performance, high efficiency, a large operating range, easy installation and incredible flexibility. The systems can be customized to meet the specific demands of most projects. Up to four outdoor units can be combined to reach 104 horsepower with u...

As a provider of climate solutions, the Viessmann Group has strengthened its product line of large heat pumps with an additional development site in Dresden. This was announced by the company on 15th February 2021. The new development site is to be further expanded over the course of the next few years. Viessmann is, thus, taking advantage of the excellent environment for cooling technology in the Dresden area. Doubling the production capacity Every kilowatt hour of electricity used...

SO Energy’s mission is to enable customers to achieve net zero carbon emissions. They want to make a greener future accessible to everyone, and they’re working on a number of ways to get closer to that goal. One of these ways is by installing solar panels and home batteries to turn customers’ homes into mini generators, generating what is currently the greenest electricity available. Support to scrap VAT on Low and Zero Carbon Products As part of this, SO Energy has long bee...

On Thursday, March 11, 2021, professional plumbers across the land will be celebrated on World Plumbing Day. While this year may look a little different, the critical worker status of plumbing and heating engineers has changed the way that many now view the industry. In the face of a global pandemic, it is those in the trade who have manned the frontlines, risking contact with COVID-19 virus, in a bid to keep the public safe and warm in their homes. World Plumbing Day Initiated by the World P...

Tribe Transportation is expanding its fleet with 111 new 53-foot trailers equipped with Carrier Transicold X4™ 7500 refrigeration units to help it meet demand in the fast-growing life sciences sector, which includes the transport of pharmaceutical products. Carrier Transicold is a part of Carrier Global Corporation, a pioneering global provider of healthy, safe and sustainable building and cold chain solutions. The acquisition includes Carrier Transicold TRU-Mount solar panels, which he...

Trane Technologies, a global climate innovator, has announced that the company leadership will participate in a virtual fireside chat at the 2021 Citi Global Industrials Conference. They will speak at 11:20 AM ET on Wednesday, February 17, 2021. Global Industrials Conference The live webcast of the 2021 Citi Global Industrials Conference will be accessible on the Trane Technologies official website, under the investor relations section. An archive of the webcast will be available 30 days follo...

Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC) has recently signed a contract for the first 10 hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) buses in Xichang, a city on Western Sichuan Highland, pioneering China's ‘highland’ HFC bus project tailored by DEC for the city. Given the high altitude and thin air of Xichang, DEC conducted in-depth research, namely engineering simulation and field measurement, in the optimal design, optimal control and efficient operation of the systems, and independently developed fuel c...

American Wheatley HVAC Products has entered into a Preferred Master Distributor stocking arrangement with Allied Technology & Engineering Services Ltd. Co. located in Jeddah, KSA. ATES will stock its WFA and BDT series expansion tanks along with Tangential Style Air Separators with strainers through 16” at their headquarters in Jeddah. Allied Technology & Engineering Services is a pioneer in the HVAC industry in Saudi Arabia and the entire MENA region. American Whe...

On 8 February 2021, the Wilo Group successfully completed the acquisition of the Berlin-based Abionik Group from the private equity company, BID Equity, as well as other shareholders. In doing so, it is expanding its competence as a solution supplier in clean water treatment. Abionik currently employs around 170 people across eleven production and sales sites in Europe and Asia. Among other companies, the Abionik Group includes Martin Systems, Likusta Umwelttechnik, and Steinhardt, which specia...

Moffitt Corporation has announced that they are ready to launch three new products into the industrial and commercial marketplace. These products complement the Moffitt message of Natural Ventilation Solutions, as they each promote a better work environment, by reducing temperatures, reducing the need for maintenance, and reducing the roof load on customers’ buildings. These products were developed by listening to customer feedback and through a focus on manufacturing sophistication. Mat...

DENSO Corporation announced it will transfer ownership of its Higashi Hiroshima Plant to its subsidiary - DENSO Kyushu on April 1, 2021. The plant will be renamed DENSO Kyushu Higashi Hiroshima Plant. The DENSO Group has long manufactured compact motors for automotive wiper systems and washer systems at the Higashi Hiroshima Plant. DENSO Kyushu, which has a Kitakyushu Plant and Hiroshima Plant nearby that manufacture thermal system products, diesel fuel injection systems and components, and gas...

With weather warnings in place across the country, a lot of people will be experiencing the type of freezing conditions ripe for plumbing disasters. When the temperatures drop below freezing, the water within exposed or un-insulated pipework can freeze. Boiler damage and burst pipes In plumbing systems, this can limit water supplies to taps, showers and toilet cisterns. In heating systems, this can limit water supplies to the boiler or heat source. As an added complication, water expands when...