ARI chairman's goal: solve world's energy issues
Staff -- Consulting-Specifying Engineer, 9/1/2007
Speaking on Aug. 22 to an audience of air conditioning and refrigeration engineers attending the International Congress of Refrigeration in Beijing, Robert Wilkins, president of Danfoss, Inc. and 2007 chairman of the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), issued a call to action for the air conditioning and commercial refrigeration industry. He appealed to the delegates for greater research and technology development to help solve the world's energy and environmental challenges.
The global air conditioning and refrigeration industry has a vital mandate to address energy supply, efficiency and environmental challenges, Wilkins said. Historically, actions by this industry have led to revolutionary benefits for societies worldwide. These improvements to quality of life include dramatic lessening of environmental impact of refrigerants; increased global workplace productivity through indoor comfort and health; greatly increased access to fresher food supplies through commercial and mobile refrigeration; and significantly improved safety and longevity of medical supplies through refrigeration.
“How we address these challenges will determine where we will be as an industry when we approach the middle of the 21st century,” was the message Wilkins delivered in Beijing.
Wilkins outlined a vision of an industry energy and environmental program based on four tenets: energy efficiency, responsible refrigerant use, standards development and performance certification. He highlighted several key points to demonstrate the industry's impressive progress including the following:
Products manufactured by this industry are more efficient than they have ever been, he claimed, as air conditioning and refrigeration equipment accounts for about one-third of the annual energy usage in developed countries with hot climates.
ARI's Responsible Refrigerant Use Initiative, Wilkins said, is ensuring that the industry's most widely used refrigerants—those using HFCs—remain available for vital applications.
He also noted the importance of ARI performance standards and certification as a way to ensure quality, performance and efficiency in HVAC/R products around the world.
“Only those whose products have undergone rigorous, third-party testing can actually prove that their products are as efficient as advertised. That is the way to ensure maximum energy efficiency,” Wilkins said.
