Latha Krishnan reports on the product and its efficacy
Electricity charges are increasing all over the world and in the United Arab Emirates. And air conditioning is the main contributor to the energy bill, which is evident from the big amounts printed on the bills that we receive every month during the hot summers. How do we get the best performance from our air conditioning systems and at the same time bring down our bills? A simple but very effective solution is to use PermaFrost in our cooling systems!
PermaFrost is a leading energy-efficient technology meant for the HVAC industry. It is a liquid that is added to the cooling system, and is specifically designed to enhance the overall performance of any air conditioning and refrigeration system without modifications or alterations to the system itself. This advanced proprietary molecular technology relies on highly activated thermo-conductive compounds.
In a typical air conditioning system, a layer of non-conductive oil will attach itself to the inner lining of the coils. This layer of oil will create laminar friction and restrict the flow of the refrigerant through the system, decreasing heat transfer rates. PermaFrost dislodges the non-conductive layer of oil that lines the tubing within the air conditioning system and replaces it with highly charged thermo-conductive molecules that increases the flow of refrigerant through the system, facilitating increased heat transfer.
Connor McCaffery, CEO of Greenwave Capital, which has been marketing and installing PermaFrost in the air conditioning systems of various buildings around the UAE and the greater Middle East region since 2007, explains, “PermaFrost is a high-grade synthetic oil that delivers the technology contained in the oil into the cooling system and works itself around the system. It’s a one-time application and results in a number of performance and cost reduction benefits including longer AC compressor life and lower energy consumption.”
Different applications
PermaFrost has been around worldwide since 2002 when it started being manufactured in Houston, Texas in the USA. It was introduced into the Middle East two years ago when Greenwave Capital, a company dedicated to investing in environmentally sound opportunities worldwide, brought it here to benefit the large air conditioning and refrigeration market. “We have about 6000 PermaFrost installations worldwide and over the course of the last two years we have been able to work our way into the market here in the UAE and the neighbouring Gulf countries. In addition to offices in the USA and the UAE, we also have offices in India, Ireland and the United Kingdom,” informs McCaffery.
It is not just in the HVAC industry that PermaFrost can work its wonders. It can also be immensely beneficial in the refrigeration and ice making industry and in automobiles. There are about eight different formulas of PermaFrost available and these can be used in different applications and tailored to protect the specific system. PermaFrost is compatible with most available cooling systems It can also have industrial applications where a particular machine has to be kept cool and has an air conditioning component to it. Whatever the application may be, PermaFrost technicians diagnose the need in a particular system and prescribe the right type of PermaFrost to be used in it.
Whether it is in a villa or townhouse, a commercial property, a hotel or motel, apartments, restaurants, healthcare facilities, educational facilities or vehicles, PermaFrost can dramatically improve the cooling ability of your air conditioner and reduce all your cooling costs typically between 10 and 20 percent.
Building energy management involves everything that contributes to energy use. For many businesses, cooling costs represent the biggest single controllable expense. Since PermaFrost increases the energy efficiency of all types of cooling systems, it can easily be said that no building energy management plan or facilities management program is complete without it. EMRILL, a leading facilities management (FM) services provider in the UAE committed to sustainable solutions and the environment, has been offering PermaFrost to their residential clients for more than four months. PermaFrost is successfully reducing DEWA bills of several villas in Dubai and other emirates. Because it is energy efficient PermaFrost installed in small and big air conditioning units end up being run effectively and at the same time with reduced carbon footprint.
Dual benefit
Anywhere fossil fuels are used to generate power, such as here in the Middle East, then there is large amount of carbon associate with that power source. Using Permafrost not only reduces your energy consumption between 10 and 20 percent, it is also helping then to reduce the carbon footprint of the equipment in question. As McCaffery puts it, “If you are concerned about saving money and bringing your utility bill down, then PermaFrost makes sense. If you are concerned about the environment, then again PermaFrost in your air-conditioning systems helps reduce your carbon footprint. FM companies like EMRILL providing PermaFrost to their clients are indeed seeing its main two benefits.”
EMRILL has been offering PermaFrost to their clients for about four months. “The tests that we have done with PermaFrost have certainly given us very good results. Hopefully that will continue in the future too,” comments Nev Patterson, Director of Operations PSN of EMRILL.
All the malls that come under the Safeer Group have PermaFrost installed in their air conditioning systems and have got a net result of a saving of 12 percent. Similarly several hotels and commercial establishments in Dubai have installed or are in the process of installing PermaFrost after technicians demonstrated to them the percentage of energy savings they would enjoy if they used PermaFrost in their cooling systems with the basic result of longer AC compressor life and lower energy consumption.
No doubt, alternative environment friendly energy types like solar and wind energy are beneficial to the environment. For example, installing solar panels on the roof of your residence will definitely get about 12 percent saving in your utility bill but it is going to take a long time like eight or nine years to pay off the cost of the panels.
The Return on Investment (ROI) or how long it takes to get the return on the money you invested is of paramount importance. McCaffery points out, “With PermaFrost saving 10 to 12 percent in your bill you get your ROI in 12 months. That means that you get the money you spent on installing PermaFrost in your systems pays back to you in savings in 12 months. This is mainly because it is a one-time application and no modifications have to be done to the existing system and you start getting the benefit of energy efficiency right from the time PermaFrost is in your system. You are not only gaining in efficiency but also stopping the system from further degradation. Moreover the initial savings may increase later by another two or three percent. You can also use PermaFrost with other environment friendly systems and experience further savings. Thus PermaFrost also makes sound financial sense.”
If you are interested to know how much your refrigeration, freezer and air conditioning equipment costs each year in electricity cost and in costs for wear and maintenance, you get PermaFrost technicians to come and use their award winning ClimaCheck Performance Analyzer to inspect your equipment. This is offered as a stand-alone service or incorporated it into all testing that is done prior to and after installing Permafrost solution. This allows you to see permafrost working and saving you money You can also take it one step further and install ClimaCheck Performance Analyzer in your system permanently. It is made to internationally recognized standards of performance and gives you detailed information on how the performance of your equipment varies with time and how effective it is in terms of energy efficiency, carbon saving, etc.
McCaffery has been spending time with FM companies here and in the UK and reports extremely positive feedback from them. The UK has bigger electricity costs in addition to the new carbon emission tax. The whole world will inexorably go that way with the rates going up and the machines losing their efficiency. The onus lies on FM companies to provide environmentally friendly and energy saving solutions like PermaFrost. He reiterates, “As more FM companies come into the market, it becomes imperative for them to provide competitive advantages to clients, who have also started realizing that the cheapest solution is not always the best. There is definitely a leaning towards quality in an increasingly competitive market environment. Any FM company who can employ technologies like ClimaCheck to diagnose and monitor their systems and then install PermaFrost to increase efficiency and reduce bills is going to gain a competitive advantage over other companies who don’t do so.”
PermaFrost’s effectiveness has been proven internationally in numerous client installations worldwide. It is the only product of its kind in the world and has merged the rigors of the lab with the practicality of the real world to produce commercially viable cooling solutions. Results of several case studies around the world show that the PermaFrost advanced technology has gained worldwide recognition for its outstanding performance in air conditioning and refrigeration units.
“For the benefits it gives, PermaFrost is twice ahead as any other product in terms of value. There is really nothing out there that can save you 10 to 20 percent in your overall energy cost savings,” says McCaffery, who reports a huge escalation of interest in PermaFrost including among many FM companies. “At any given time in Dubai, we have about 150 clients in some stage of the process of installing PermaFrost in their systems. And currently our sole focus is on promoting PermaFrost but we will be introducing more new green products in the future.”
