Mechanical Technology November 2015

⎪ Heating, cooling, ventilation and air conditioning ⎪

The pioneer of industrial and commercial

Carrier has been a pioneer of air conditioning technology since 1902, when founder Willis Carrier developed a dehumidifier for a printing works in Buffalo, New York. MechTech talks to AHI Carrier South Africa’s managing director, Scott Meikle (left) and its regional manager, Derrick Daubern (right).

AHI Carrier South Africa In South Africa, the Carrier Corporation opened Carrier South Africa in Johan- nesburg to serve South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. From 1996 through to 2000, Carrier expanded by buying com- panies such as Metraclark-Recam, the refrigeration and air-conditioning compo- nent wholesaler. To reach into the ever- expanding local air-conditioning market, the company also opened branches in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape to add to its Johannesburg head office. In December 2008, Air-conditioning and Heating International (AHI) entered into a local joint venture (JV) with Carrier and in early 2009, the combined entity became AHI Carrier South Africa (Pty) Ltd. The global JV model dates back to December 1997, when the first agree- ment was signed for the distribution of Carrier products in Russia and all 12 CIS countries. Today, AHI Carrier JVs are active in 63 other countries across four continents: Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. Notable successes The company’s global solutions-driven innovativity has recently been used to preserve Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. The masterpieces on the chapel ceiling were in danger of experiencing accelerated deterioration because of increasing num- bers of visitors. The new Carrier HVAC system uses two Carrier AquaForce ® 30XWV water- cooled chillers with Greenspeed ® intelli- gence, each supplying 580 kW of cooling capacity. As well as the energy-saving and control technologies used to maintain optimal climate conditions for the protec- tion of the paintings within the chapel, an intelligent system of controls, linked to an advanced video application from UTC Building and Industrial Systems, enables the HVAC system to anticipate visitor levels and adjust its performance intuitively. The new system delivers twice the effi- ciency and three times the capacity of the

A plant room of Carrier Aquaforce ® 30XW chillers. These high-efficiency, indoor water-cooled chillers are quiet, low- vibration screw compressors. The units have excellent part-load efficiency and a compact footprint, making them ideal for use as replacement units. former system, which was designed and installed by Carrier in the early 1990s. “Carrier is always looking to de- velop products that reduce overall energy usage,” notes Meikle, citing two recent introductions: Carrier’s versatile AquaEdge™ 19XR 3000-RT two-stage centrifugal chiller, which achieves high efficiency while using a non-ozone deplet- ing refrigerant; and the new AquaForce 30XW chiller, which offers 20% better efficiency than its predecessors. “Currently in South Africa, generators are needed in commercial buildings for power during load shedding. The lower the energy use in the building, the better – not just in the short term, but also to reduce long-term demand. Since HVAC accounts for up to 50% of the power consumption in commercial buildings, Carrier HVAC systems can contribute toward reducing consumption, not just through its modern chillers, but also by incorporating products such as heat pumps that use the waste heat generated by the chillers to provide hot water for buildings. This solution can remove the need for electric heating elements, which typically draw significant amounts of electrical power,” Meikle tells MechTech . Water shortages have also been pre- dicted, which means air-cooled chillers, the use of dry coolers with water-cooled chillers, alternative grey water systems for cooling tower top-up water and sea

I n 1902, responding to a humidity problem at a lithography and pub- lishing company in Buffalo, New York, Willis Carrier realised that it was possible to influence the humidity of atmospheric air using sprayed water at different temperatures. On January 2, 1906, he was granted a US patent for the world’s first spray- type air-conditioner, an invention Carrier called ‘Apparatus for Treating Air’ . It was designed to humidify or dehumidify ambient air, heating the sprayed water for humidification and cooling it for de-humidification. Willis Carrier’s realisation and subse- quent invention led to the recognition that air conditioning involves four basic func- tions: air temperature control; humidity control; ventilation; and purification – a principle unchanged in modern times. In April 1909, Carriers’ employer, Buffalo Forge, founded a wholly owned subsidiary, the Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America, with Willis Carrier as its leader. This company was later bought by Carrier along with six other co-founders and was owned by Willis Carrier and his partners until 1979, when Carrier Air Conditioning was acquired by United Technologies, the US$5.6-billion parent of Pratt & Whitney Aircraft and the Otis Elevator Company. “More than a century separates Willis Carrier’s 1902 air-conditioning installa- tion from a modern Carrier chiller, but his spirit of quality and innovation lives on in the people of Carrier and in the products it makes,” says Meikle.

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Mechanical Technology — November 2015