Luis Mena (C&R): “The Fair will provide an overview of the air conditioning and refrigeration sectors”.
Luis Mena is chairman of the C&R Organising Committee and AFEC (Association of Air Conditioning Equipment Manufacturers). In this interview, he says that the Fair will provide an overview of the air conditioning and refrigeration sectors, with first-hand information about the benefits of technology developments and refitting of existing installations. He also explains recent changes in the industry and the main new developments at the event.
How quickly do you think the air conditioning and refrigeration industries are recovering from the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic?
During the pandemic, the air conditioning and refrigeration sectors demonstrated that they are essential for the health, welfare and productivity of the economy as a whole. Although having said that, the recovery has followed the different ups and downs and cycles of each party involved.
In the case of air conditioning, after a significant drop during the first part of 2020, the rest of the year, the sector improved the figures even sooner than forecast, helped by better demand for products for residential applications. Commercial and tertiary sector applications took longer to get off the ground. In this second year of the pandemic period, 2021, the trend seems to be reversed: better figures for commercial, industrial and tertiary solutions but weaker growth for home equipment sales.
The trend In refrigeration is very different. Except for the forced shut-down due to lockdown, the rest of the time, refrigeration kept growing. It was more evident in food production and retail and pharmaceuticals, but not so much in the hotel, restaurant and catering sectors. This refrigeration sector has been undergoing constant transformation for years, helped by all the changes in distribution, the growth of local commerce, replacing existing units with new ones with better performance and low-GWP refrigerants, in addition to so many other favourable factors.
In short, both the one part and the other are already recovering in 2021 to such a level that we can hopefully achieve figures similar or higher than those of 2019.
What opportunities can these sectors find in the European Union’s Next Generation funding?
Next Generation funds will be a significant boost for the economic recovery and the market. One of the main opportunities for our sector will be the energy efficiency plans for refitting existing buildings. Thermal installations in buildings (and in many sectors of the economy) are the primary energy consumers. So, government agencies should prioritise them and allocate a large part of these funds to reducing both CO2 emissions and the national energy bill. This undoubtedly directly affects things like creating employment and improving competitiveness.
How can the C&R sector contribute to decarbonising buildings and achieving sustainability goals?
Technological improvements in the C&R equipment sector will help fulfil decarbonisation policies. This contribution is based on three fundamental pillars: increasing energy efficiency, switching to renewable energy sources, and reducing CO2 emissions. So, air conditioning and refrigeration will play a major role in decarbonising the economy and help to achieve sustainability goals, which are so ambitious in the European Union.
In this regard, heat pumps are essential, specifically as a heating and domestic hot water system for residential buildings. At the current conjuncture, no one in Spain or elsewhere in Europe can doubt that it will be critical for the energy transition and essential for achieving the EU’s energy and climate goals.
How can a trade fair like C&R contribute to boosting the air conditioning and refrigeration industry?
With its slogan “Creating Well-being Together” and focusing on the energy and climate goals I mentioned before, the Fair will provide an overview of the C&R sector. This overview will give attendees first-hand information about the benefits of technological developments and the refitting of facilities, about what and how they can contribute to aspects like energy saving, connectivity, energy management, air quality, environmental protection.
What messages or main features of the Fair would you highlight?
This edition is going to be very special. After this impasse that we’ve been through, the Fair will be an opportunity for the whole sector to come together again. It’ll be the first major European face-to-face event in our field. It will undoubtedly provide attendees with a clear overview of the latest products, the latest in low-GWP refrigerant technologies, management systems, and much more. It will also enable them to see the latest all connected developments in air conditioning, refrigeration, ventilation, air treatment, and air diffusion. In addition to all this, the face-to-face meeting will enable people to catch up with current topics from sector experts.
The Organising Committee and the different commissions, and the event's management are all working together on an upgraded format for the C&R Forum. It will include technical talks dealing with several topics: Decarbonising buildings; The new features of the current and future RITE (Regulation of Thermal Installations in Buildings); Indoor air quality beyond the pandemic; Analysis of two major architecture and engineering projects; training in the sector and how to adapt it to technological developments, and a two-session special-interest event about Refrigeration.
As in previous editions, the Innovation Gallery will highlight the latest-generation equipment and other technological innovations, on this occasion, through a selection of eleven products.
Another important aspect is that there will be training sessions in the TACWorkshop and the Refrigeration Workshop.