Tech trends central to seminar program

Technology trends were an important part of the ARBS seminar program with some sessions featuring a number of international speakers.

Day three of the program saw a presentation by Lu-Ve Group’s Stefano Filippini, who was involved in the research and development of the company’s dry and spray technology in Italy.

He travelled to Australia specifically to present the results of his research at ARBS.
Used in a range of large capacity dry coolers and condensers, the technology was developed jointly with the University of Milan.

Filippini said dry and spray products represent the most advanced point in the development of dissipaters capable of exchanging great quantities of heat at low temperature, near that of the dry bulb air temperature.

He said the objective underlying the research was to create a product that has the lowest possible impact on the environment and to allow heat exchange temperatures near the ambient temperature (guaranteeing high COP of the installation) combined with low ventilation consumption.

Products in the dry and spray series work as traditional dry coolers with dry fins for as long as the air temperature is low enough to maintain cooling power.

Once the air temperature becomes too high to maintain cooling capacity at the project conditions, the system automatically starts to spray the required amount of water onto the fins.

“The evaporation of the water sprayed on the fins dramatically increases the capacity of the unit, allowing it to maintain the temperature of the cooled liquid at the projected conditions at any ambient air temperatures,” Filippini said.

“This innovative technology also permits a cooled liquid temperature equal to or lower than the dry bulb ambient air temperature with significant energy advantages.

“It should be stressed that most of the water sprayed onto the fins evaporates off. This means it is not necessary to fit a drain tray beneath the unit to collect and recirculate the sprayed water, with enormous health benefits.”

The biggest health benefit of course is that it removes the risk of legionella.
There are three installations of this technology in Australia with hundreds of completed projects across Europe.

The advantages and disadvantages of ammonia as an alternative to chemical refrigerants was covered in a session with Phillip Carruthers, an associate director for Norman Disney & Young, and Stefan Jensen, managing director of Scantec Refrigeration Technologies.

With the carbon tax set for introduction next month it was a timely session.

The presentation was entitled Ammonia Plant in a Commercial Building.

Jensen covered the potential for ammonia while Carruthers compared it to a HFC solution.

Carruthers is also a presidential fellow member of AIRAH and Jensen is the co-inventor of the Rotadisk flake ice maker.

Day three ended with a case study on the GPT Group’s Sydney headquarters in the iconic MLC Centre.

It was presented by GPT’s industrial sustainability manager, Bruce Precious.
GPT’s business is focused on the ownership, management and development of real estate.

Precious talked about how GPT was able to completely transform its workspace by doing more with less.

“With a wide variety of workspaces spread over three floors, workers can choose the kind of workspace that best fits their immediate needs but then change whenever they need,” he said.

“From quiet rooms to collaboration tables, informal kitchen tables to a fully equipped boardroom, flexible training rooms through to a spectacular auditorium, the office has been transformed with people and the environment in mind.

“The result is more productive space, more productive staff, improved lighting and indoor air quality. Energy use has almost been cut by half, and paper use is down by even more.”