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February 28 - Hitachi RACs Exhaust Dirt Outdoors and Replenish Oxygen

Hitachi Home & Life Solutions (H&L) releases from the end of January new RAC models in E series having both air intake and exhaust functions and capable of creating a comfortable living space by new air flow controlling function.
Released from January are 9 models from 2.2 to 7.1 kW.
Thanks to the "air intake/exhaust and air flow controlling system", the new models have realized the air exhaust function for discharging the dirt which tends to stay in the room air due to more airtight housing structure, and the air intake function for introducing the fresh air after purifying it through for filters.
The "fresh air intake" function can replenish oxygen by introducing the fresh air. By introducing fresh outdoor air whose oxygen concentration is about 21% into the room, users can comfortably stay in the room due to the oxygen concentration well balanced as in nature. By the air intake operation, 2.5116 m3/h of oxygen as contained in about 1,255 PET bottles can be replenished. When using the good sleep timer in summer, cool fresh air is introduced when outside temperature is lower than room temperature, even after the RAC has been switched off. "Twin air flow" coming from the second discharge port newly placed in the center of indoor unit circulates the room air efficiently, thus reducing unpleasant draft in the cooling mode. Also, by adopting large air deflector "Big Aero-navi Louver" 1.4 times as large as that adopted in last year's models, warm air is prevented from blowing up to send warm air to more remote corners from the foot level and lift cool air upward in the cooling mode.
"Clean air discharge" function has been provided to remove CO₂, formaldehyde generating from building materials, furniture, etc. which could not be removed by conventional air purifying function alone. When "constant air discharge" function is set by pressing the remote controller button, 24- hour continuous air discharge becomes possible.

February 26 - China Reach US$12 Billion Home Appliance Exports 2003

According to a report in Beijing Youth Daily dated December 14, China's custom authorities announced that the total value of China's home appliance exports in January ~ October 2003 topped US$10 billion, up 39.7% over the same period of 2002.
The custom authorities commented that, although China's home appliance exports were affected by SARS, exports of major home appliances such as ACs, microwave ovens, refrigerators, washing machines, fans and rice cookers generally remained favorable. In particular, fan exports grew remarkably to 140 million units in January ~ October period, while AC exports jumped 96.82% over the same period of 2002.
The rate of increase in exports exceeded that of production. November exports are also continuing to increase, and some AC makers attained amazing growth - up 400% over the same period of 2002.
If these increases are maintained, the yearly total exports will reach 15 million units for ACs, 27 million units for microwave ovens, 8 million units for refrigerators, 3 million units for washing machines, and 13 million units for rice cookers, so that overall exports may reach US$12 million.

February 24 - Haier Puts Jordan Factory to Operation

Recently, Haier has put their Jordan air conditioner (AC) factory to operation. This is the second facility constructed in the Middle East, following Pakistan factory which is the first overseas production facility of Haier.
According to an industry source, the company has felt it difficult to meet orders from the Middle East market merely by depending on exports. Accordingly, it has become imminent to start local production by establishing a factory in the Middle East. By the operation of Jordan factory, it has become possible to greatly shorten the time for distribution. The shorter distance from the market is expected to enhance the competitive power of products.
Since their entry into the Middle East market, Haier has developed products specified for the Middle East market by adopting highly dust-proofing and oxygen supplying functions to withstand the use in a desert.
Big demand from overseas is powerfully bolstering the exports of Haier ACs. According to the statistical data announced by China Household Electrical Appliances Association, Haier's yearly AC exports in 2003 reached 1.2 million units, up 42.65% over 2002, thus placing the company at the top level among Chinese AC makers.

February 22 - ZAC Celebrates Record Production in 2003

Zamil Air Conditioners (ZAC) has further enhanced its prominence as a leading Middle Eastern and international manufacturer of air conditioning systems, with the production of its 500,000th room air conditioning unit for 2003. The half-millionth unit produced during the year rolled off the production line at the company's manufacturing facilities in Dammam First Industrial City in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia on December 28, 2003.
At a ceremony marking the occasion, Ahmed A. Al Zamil, President of Zamil Air Conditioners, thanked the entire production team for their contribution in helping to set the record achievements and awarded certificates of appreciation and commemorative gifts. local distributors. Most of the large air conditioning manufacturers in Iran participated in the exhibition including Atmospher Manufacturing Company, Mehr Asl Manufacturing Company and Saravel.
"We can all be proud of these great achievements by our Consumer Products Business Unit production team, which has set these new records for Zamil Air Conditioners and which has also elevated our leadership status among the entire air conditioning manufacturing base in the Middle East," he said.
"This is a tremendous record for it underscores the successes of capital investments which have been made in ZAC over our 29-year history, and more importantly, it demonstrates the efforts and contributions which have made by our most important assets - our people - the majority of whom are Saudi nationals who are involved in our manufacturing assembly lines," he added. "Of course, we are most grateful for the continuing loyalty of our many customers throughout the region and indeed throughout the world for the support they continue to show for Zamil Air Conditioners." In addition to being ISO 9001-2000 certified, ZAC also holds various other international certifications including becoming the first Middle Eastern company to be awarded the prestigious American Refrigeration Institute (ARI) certificate. In addition, its US$ 10 million Air Conditioning Technology Centre (ATC) is a unique facility in the Middle East which enables ZAC to guarantee product quality, supports R&D efforts and which helps to expedite product launches.
As one of six strategic business units of ZAC, the Consumer Products Business Unit is primarily responsible for supporting the production of the company's Classic and Cooline range of window air conditioners and minisplit systems. It is also involved in original equipment manufacturing (OEM) for a range of international branded products.

February 20 - Shuangliang Absorption Chiller Seminar Held in Jakarta

Following the successful participation in RAHV 2003 air conditioning exhibition held in Jakarta, Indonesia from September 3-6, 2003, Jiangsu Shuangliang Air-Conditioning Co., Ltd. from China, with its local sole agent PT Waskita Prima Guna, organized another milestone event - a seminar with the topic: Shuangliang Absorption Chiller: Towards Better Efficiency and More Environment Friendly Chiller" held on September 9, 2003 at a five-star hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The turnout of this seminar is nothing less than 150 people concerned in air conditioning business, including end-users and consulting engineers for both commercial and industrial applications.
Presenting the opening introduction was Mr. Jie Lianshan, Shuangliang Vice General Manager of Sales, who was followed by Mr. Amin Jusuf, PT Waskita Prima Guna, Shuangliang Indonesian agent. Mr. John Sun, South East Asia Manager, continued with the bulk of Shuangliang presentation by introducing their absorption chiller to the attendees. Later, Shuangliang was upheld as one of the world leaders in absorption chiller technology. This half-day speaker, Mr. Rudi Atmoko, delivering a speech on gas and its application with absorption chiller as the last keynote speaker.
In view of the limited knowledge and applications of absorption chillers in Indonesia, Shuangliang hoped after this seminar that most attendees may become aware of capabilities and applications of this versatile top quality Chinese-made equipment. Shuangliang absorption chiller can use one of the following energy sources to run: gas, oil, steam or hot water, in addition to its extremely small use of electricity (compared with electric chillers). This successful event ended with a question and answer session.

February 18 - Mostra Convegno Expocomfort, Italian Show

The Exhibition Center, Milan, Italy; March 2 - 6, 2004
The 34th MCE, Mostra Convegno Expocomfort, the international biennial for domestic and industrial systems, with sectors devoted to heating, air-conditioning, refrigeration, plumbing technology, water treatment and bathrooms, will take place at the Fiera Milano from March 2 to 6, 2004.
The most recent Mostra Convegno Expocomfort confirmed its number one position worldwide (over three thousand exhibitors, more than 140 thousand net square metres, some 150 thousand visitors, 16% of whom came to Italy from the four corners of the world). It also paid considerable attention to the emerging themes of the systems market: energy saving and management to protect the environment, water treatment, the reassessment of those aspects of the interior environment associated with technology, standards and design.
These objective market "signposts" point the way for MCE 2004: a central role for Next Energy, increased emphasis on the water treatment segment and, above all, a new concept for the "Bathroom Halls".
The "halls" have evolved into The Bathroom Show (Il Salone dell'Arredobagno), a genuine show within a show. "The Show - as Anna Patani, MCE's exhibition director explains - aims to satisfy two specific needs. On the one hand there are large, internationally known companies that are looking to promote their brand and their concept through a major exhibition and to raise their profile with the final consumer.
On the other hand, there are small and medium sized Italian companies who primarily compete on the basis of their creativity and who find it extremely useful to meet major customers in an international arena that focuses the spotlight on their quality".
MCE has been launching targeted initiatives in leading countries aimed at major buyers, architects/designers and those who influence purchasing decisions, so that they look to Mostra Convegno Expocomfort as the place to discover technical, aesthetic and commercial trends in the interior environment.

February 16 - Melco to Increase Photovoltaic Cell Production

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (Melco) is to reinforce the photovoltaic cell production. By investing \3,300 million in plant and equipment, the company increases the production capacity from the current 50 MW to 90 MW by the end of July 2004 and to 130 MW after 2005. As in the case of AC business, Melco aims to become one of the world's top 3 in the photovoltaic power generation system business.
Photovoltaic power generation systems are produced by lead-free soldered cell module lines at Iida Plant (Nagano Prefecture) and Kyoto Plant (modules alone at Kyoto Plant). In order to meet the expanding demand in both Japan and overseas in recent years, Melco raised the production capability from 35 to 50 MW in September 2003 by moving up the expansion plan.
The world's photovoltaic power generation system market grew to 560 MW in 2002, up 43% over 2001, of which Japan occupied 251 MW. In Japan, demand is expanding rapidly reflecting the prevalence of all electric home backed up by the government's subsidy system. "Especially in Japan, demand for all electric home is expanding, and despite the sluggish construction of new residences, the number of those houses is growing noticeably. We place IH cooking heaters, "Eco Cute" water heaters and photovoltaic power generation system as the three main pillars of all-electric business." stressed the company.
After participating in the residential photovoltaic power generation system business in 1996, Melco constructed the photovoltaic plant in their Iida Plant in 1998. Since then, the company has expanded the production system every year.
From now on, while giving special considerations to the environmental issues and reinforcement of production system, the company intends to diffuse the photovoltaic power generation systems.

February 14 - Refrigerant Trend in Japanese PACs and VRFs

It is evident that R410A is becoming the primary refrigerant for Japanese air conditioners. In the room air conditioner (RAC) segment, shift from R22 to R410A started several years ago, and in 2003 most RACs became R410A models.
In the same period, shift from R22 to R407C started in the packaged air conditioner (PAC) segment. This is because R407C is similar to R22 in pressure/ temperature properties and tends to be easily shifted to ODP-free HFC refrigerant with minor modifications.
Having higher density and efficiency than R407C, R410A is easier to treat as azeotropic refrigerant. However, since it has high pressure, components such as compressor and pressure vessel need to be redesigned.
On the other hand, since R407C is ternary blends, it has a temperature glide which makes additional recharge difficult.
In April 2000 Toshiba Carrier announced the release of PACs using R410A and then in February 2001 unveiled R410A model (11.2 kW) having 4.2 COP, thus giving a great impact on the industry. Since then, Sanyo and other major makers have gradually increased the lineup of R410A PACs.
VRF refrigerant shifting to R410A
Since VRF (multiple indoor units AC/heat pump) systems are larger and more complicated than PACs, their makers adopted R407C which is similar to R22 in pressure. By releasing VRVII using R410A in December 2002, Daikin gave a great impact on the industry. Further, early 2003, Daikin announced a plan to switch its entire commercial range of AC equipment from R407C to R410A. By launching VRVII also on overseas markets, Daikin is gradually shifting the refrigerant to R410A. Daikin Europe mentioned in its webpage: "It seems likely that advantages mentioned above will result in R410A becoming the refrigerant norm for commercial, industrial and residential packaged air conditioning systems throughout Europe." Although, for competitors, shifting refrigerant of VRF systems to R410A is a huge burden in terms of technological and development cost, they cannot neglect the impact of Daikin which can affect the market trend.
By the end of 2003, most Japanese makers developed and announced R410A models. In Japanese market in 2004, VRF systems using R410A will increase remarkably.

February 12 - HVAC&R JAPAN 2004 Held in Tokyo

The 33rd HVAC&R JAPAN Exhibition was held at the West Halls of Tokyo Big Sight under the auspices of Japan Refrigeration, Air Conditioning Industry Association (JRAIA) from February 3 to 6, 2004.
With the participation of some 140 exhibitors from Japan and overseas, the exhibition was visited by more than 100,000 industry people including international as well as Japanese HVACR professionals, architects, installers, service engineers and academic researchers for the 4-day show period.
"We hope that visitors can gain ideas to help resolve problems for their everyday jobs and lives. Along with the introduction of state-of-the art equipment and systems, we have chosen exhibitors' lectures and presentations designed to occupy every visitor's interest" remarked Mr. Yoshihiko Nakayama, Chairman of JRAIA.
JRAIA presented at the special exhibition corner illustrated panels which explain Japanese industry's efforts to protect the global environment.
At the show floor were exhibited various new products and the latest technologies offered by Japanese, as well as international, manufacturers, importers and distributors.
JARN will feature the report on HVAC&R JAPAN 2004 in the March issue.

February 10 - Sanyo Completes New Plant for Photovoltaic Cells

Construction of Nishikinohama Plant which had been underway since May 2003 in Kaizuka City, Osaka, was completed in December 2003. As a new production facility for "HITsolar cells" and HIT solar cell modules", the plant starts full-scale production from January 2004.
With the operation of the new facility, Sanyo's overall production capacity increases more than doubles the present one within fiscal year 2003 (ending March 2004) so that the company intends to meet the requirements of photovoltaic power generation system market which will expand from now on.
Sanyo succeeded in commercialization of amorphous silicon solar cells in 1980 for the first time in the world, commencing mass production of high efficiency high-output "HIT solar cells" in 1997. Since then, the company has been leading the industry with HIT solar cells" whose cell conversion efficiency is highest in the industry. At present, the company is producing solar cells at Sumoto Plant (Hyogo Prefecture) and Shimane Sanyo Industry (Shimane Prefecture) whose total production capability is 30 MW/year, while producing solar cell modules at Tokonabe Factory (Hyogo Prefecture). Nishikinohama Plant is scheduled to have 33 MW/year of production capacity in January 2004.

February 8 - The Canadian Mechanicals Exposition (CMX)
March 25, 26& 27, 2004

Owned by HRAI, the biennial Canadian Mechanicals Exposition (CMX) is a national trade show for the heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation and piping industries. CMX is held in March of "even" years (2004, 2006, etc.) at the Metro Toronto Convention Center and provides the industry with an opportunity to view the newest products and services in the HVACR industry. It also provides manufacturers and suppliers with the opportunity to exhibit products and services to the over 15,000 trade attendees.

February 6 - ARBS 2004 - Australia's HVAC&R Show
Melbourne, Australia; May 3-5, 2004

The next ARBS to be held in Melbourne 3-5 May, 2004 is already looking to be one of the largest ARBS yet in terms of space allocated and sold to date.
Exhibitor confidence in the results achieved from previous ARBS' has prompted an increase in the commitment from many regular exhibitors as well as an influx of new and impressive exhibitors wanting to make their mark in the industry.
This is great news for the thousands visitors who will see the largest and most comprehensive range of products and services ever exhibited by the HVAC & R & building services industry. ARBS 2004, the largest gathering of HVAC & R and building services industry manufacturers, suppliers and wholesalers under one roof in the Southern Hemisphere, will provide visitors with an opportunity to view the latest industry trends and technologies. Many ARBS exhibitors have already indicated that they will be introducing new products when the exhibition opens its doors at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on 3 May 2004.

February 4 - AHR Expo 2004 Sets New Record at West Coast

Thanks to the indication of the recovered economy, good preparation of organizers and ideal location, 56th edition of AHR Exposition broke the all time attendance record for a West Coast event having 1652 exhibitors including 216 international exhibiting companies from 33 countries and 323,000 square feet exhibit space. With a total registered attendance of more that 37,000 HVAC professionals ( 21,000 visitors and 16,000 exhibitor personnel ). 2004 International Air conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo) was held on January 26-28 in Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California U.S.A.
JARN @ Expo
Many visitors dropped by JARN's booth where they seem to have got much information about the world HVACR industry/market through lively discussions with JARN staff members, who distributed the back numbers of JARN magazines. Some visitors took interest in JARN Directoy and purchased the 2003 version.
JARN staff members also visited a large number of exhibitors' booths and delivered JARN back numbers, while discussing their new products and markets around the world.
We will publish our reports on this AHR Expo in our February and March issues.

February 2 - 'iReady' Technology for Home Networking & Information Appliances

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation and Toshiba Corporation have individually gone forward developing Home Networking & Information Appliances and their technology. However to move the Home Networking & Information Appliances market forward, the four companies have agreed to jointly develop 'iReady' technology specifications that connect different maker's home appliances.
('iReady': is taken from the expressions, 'IT Ready', 'Internet Ready' and 'I am Ready')
Background and Objectives
There are high expectations for Home Networking & Information Appliances to bring about new added value for appliances that work together and from a distance. However hindering the wide use of Home Networking & Information Appliances are high costs due to built in network connectivity functions and no guarantees of connectivity among different maker's appliances. The four companies are first aiming to control costs and increase popularity of network enabled home appliances. The four companies went forward with mutual connectivity tests to check the option of an adapter, based on the results went further in tests aimed to establish mutual network connectivity among different makers and common rules for network transmissions. The four companies agreed to jointly promote 'iReady' home appliances and develop 'iReady' technology specifications. Moreover, within a year the four companies plan to invite other home appliance makers, computer peripheral device makers, and Internet service related corporations to this endeavor.
'iReady' Home Networking
With the standardization of 'iReady' technology specifications, plan to first popularize an inexpensive adapter connection terminal for 'iReady' home appliances then can plug in an 'iReady' adapter that has the necessary home network connection functions. With the 'iReady' adapter can connect not only with commercialized BluetoothTM and low powered wireless appliances but also wireless LAN and future transmission media, making mutual connectivity simple among different maker's appliances. Companies that have individually gone forward with network transmission services, using 'iReady' specifications joint operability among different maker's home network services and servers are possible.

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