A space-age refrigerant additive promises to help reduce airconditioning bills by up to 30 per cent even in the heat of the Gulf summer. The chemical agent is hailed as a breakthrough in metallurgical thermodynamics and surface chemistry as it alters the heat transfer properties of metal surfaces.
"It's a revolutionary technology because the scientists who developed this product are the same scientists who developed the Teflon coatings," said Bryon J. Casler, CEO of UAE Energy Solution, based in the Dubai Airport Free Zone.
The refrigerant enhancer, called Thermonomics, achieved this in at least 60 field tests supervised by the U.S. Federal Energy Management Programme.
"Households and businesses rack up huge air-conditioning bills during summer months in this part of the world," he said.
What many people do not realise is that air-conditioning systems also run like the human blood circulation system - cholesterol tends to form in the arteries.
When oil or other impurities - such as oxidation from the welding process, varnish from the compressor windings - collect inside the tube walls, it has a tendency to clog them up.
Over time, the impurities form a stagnant insulating layer that impairs heat transfer, causing an air-conditioning unit to work more to achieve the desired temperature.
The chemical agent, developed over 20 years of research and testing by three scientists in the U.S., increases the performance of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration by dislodging the insulating oil film and its molecules bond electromagnetically to the surface.
It has been approved by the U.S. Federal Energy Management Programme (FEMP) for use in government installations.
The system was first introduced in the UAE last February, and is now being used in seven huge installations - including hotels and building complexes.
"The system works in both old and new systems. "But you realise the energy savings when used in units that are over eight years old," he said. "The older the unit, the greater the savings."
"Heat transfer affects power consumption. This is caused by the refrigerant in the air-conditioning system, which contains an amount of refrigerant oil specified by the equipment manufacturer," added Casler.
Though the system promises a return on investment within nine to 22 months, depending on the age of the system, it does not promise instant savings in electricity costs in new equipment - but it enhances the equipment's life and maintenance savings.
Non-carcinogenic catalyst:* Refrigerant additive increases the ability of oil to lubricate, and displaces the build-up of refrigerant oil in the condenser and evaporator coils, thus improving heat transfer of the heat exchangers.
* The product can be used in restaurants, business and industrial settings, hospitals, government buildings heat pumps, chillers, ice machines.
* A U.S. government report says that the energy-saving system not only reduces friction in the equipment but also significantly increases the ability of replacement oil to lubricate. It is also non-carcinogenic.
* Tests done in at least eight laboratories, including in six U.S. universities and in two companies, indicate an 81 per cent reduction in seal degradation, 80 per cent reduction in friction and wear, and 78 per cent increase in resistance to oxidation which causes rust to form.
* Electro Test Incorporated (ETI), an independent testing firm, said test results revealed a 41 per cent reduction in power usage after the thermonomics product was installed.
Gulf News
