Awareness is key to revamp HVAC industry

By OEM Update Editorial June 17, 2019 5:39 pm IST

Lack of awareness in adopting better technologies is one of the major concerns dogging the HVAC industry, says Shashi Shekhar, Managing Director, Camfil Air Filtration India Pvt Ltd, in an interview with Thermal Control Business Update.

What has ‘Make in India’ made for India’s HVAC sector?
‘Make in India’ campaign has certainly helped in increasing our GDP, create more jobs, and improve the image of India as a competitive and quality manufacturing destination and this is going to continue in the future, too.

HVAC industry also has seen a lot of growth in local manufacturing with the help of indigenous technologies and introduction of lot of policy measures such as ease of doing business by the government in recent years through the initiative. Though it is still early to comment, the future prospect and the lookout is positive and promising for the industry.

How do you view Digital India’s efforts to empower India in the absence of IT awareness programmes in HVAC industry?
Digital has provided a very good platform for the HVAC industry in the form of new technologies such as IoT-enabled remote sensing and real time monitoring of data and devices.

Digital India campaign has extended the reach of Internet to millions of users in India, which has provided various platforms for educating people on new technologies and latest trends in HVAC industry throughout the world. This new platform has opened new ways of communications that are more specific and requirement-based for the user, which is a big advantage.

What do you think needs to be done to reboot and realign the priorities of Make in India and Digital India so as to turn India into the hub of HVAC?
I think that these initiatives are going into the right direction and it will be too early to comment on realignment, as it has been only few years since these policies were implemented. I would say that the government has taken very good measures in this and we just need to continue the same.

What do you think needs to be done for curbing the hazardous levels of pollution?
We should start with building awareness, which has been happening for the last couple of years, in terms of identifying the hazards of air pollution and letting the relevant public know the impact of these hazards and explain the benefits of deploying a proper system in their workplace. The Indian Standards for the sector should be brought in line with what is being followed globally and which have been accepted by industries.

How do you view India’s plan to develop its own certification facility for air pollution monitoring equipment?
It is a welcome move and any development in this regard will provide the much needed impetus in this field and will help reducing the pollutants. ISO has laid down a particular standard for air filtration i.e. ISO 16890, and as it is being implemented worldwide, the same needs to be implemented in India. We, at Camfil, follow the same for all of our products and take a lot of efforts to educate the end users about the same. We are confident that this new standard will gradually be accepted in India as well.

How do you see lack of technical expertise issues can be addressed?
For example, air filters in AHUs are essential for maintaining the quality of air in a building or premise, and the challenge is that the awareness for latest standards followed globally is low. Execution is also a challenge, as people generally look at the initial cost of setup and forget to focus on the lifecycle cost. These issues can be tackled by spreading awareness. Certification of engineers, technicians and operators is also essential.

Considering the growing pollution levels in our country, how do the present pollution control solutions help in maintaining clean air?
Air pollution is global concern and there has been a lot of efforts in India by the government to curb this. We have seen a big jump in the range of products being offered by various companies for indoor and outdoor air quality,but the major concern is the lack of awareness on air pollution among people.
A recent study suggests that the indoor environment can be up to 50 times more polluted that the outdoor. With the discovery of PM1 particle in air, we need to be more aware of the problems that we are facing.

While we can have enough products to tackle air pollution, we still need to educate people on how to choose the right product for their air quality problems. We must go for energy saving solutions, which has globally approved certifications and standards.

What are the unseen challenges faced during the implementation of pollution control mechanisms in industrial premises?
The main challenge is lack of awareness, which lead companies to opt for short term benefits for immediate cost savings by choosing high energy consuming products rather than focusing on long term benefits. We are conducting a lot of awareness programmes to tackle this issue and have received a very positive response from our customers.

While we can have enough products to tackle air pollution, we still need to educate people on how to choose the right product for their air quality problems
Shashi Shekhar, Managing Director, Camfil Air Filtration India Pvt Ltd