HVACR Live – Hot topics or cold?

HVAC & Refrigeration Live (HVACR Live), the UK’s only dedicated national exhibition for the heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration sectors will take place from 18 to 19 April 2023 at London Excel. A key part of the show will be the seminar theatres which will have speakers focusing on the hot topics of the day.

Ten years ago there were heat pumps in the cooling sector and heat pumps in the heating sector, but while the technology was essentially the same, people commonly proclaimed that they ‘aren’t the same and never the twain shall meet’.

Fast forward to 2022 and the rapid evolution of heat pumps are at the centre of almost all cooling debate with the potential to combine heating and cooling at the heart. It’s no wonder then, that while the odd stray heating engineer could be found at any air conditioning focussed show in the past, these days they’re attending in their droves as they seek to understand the breadth and depth of these products.

The use of heat pumps is primarily driven by the need to make climate control – in all its forms – sustainable now and in the future. Which brings up the next current hot topic. ‘Natural’ refrigerants are deemed to be the ideal with their GWPs of just one. But the systems that operate with those refrigerants are not necessarily the most efficient. The question has recently become, is it better to have a system that runs on a refrigerant with a GWP of just 1, but blows through fossil fuels – or have a refrigerant with perhaps a GWP 150, but is otherwise much more efficient?

HVACR Live is more than a show that’s just about heating and cooling. It can be broken down into its component parts: the heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration sectors, but all of these sectors have overlaps with others with just one missing sector holding them all together – controls. Heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and more feed into control systems, which are intrinsic to ensuring compliance with building regulations, maintaining indoor air quality (IAQ) and providing optimal climates for the occupants and/or products.

The key evolutions of controls are the use of the internet, the cloud, the mobile phone, the app. Digitalisation has taken monitoring and controlling into a whole new era, whether it’s used purely to monitor a single piece of kit, or whether it’s used to create a building where all of the facilities communicate with each other in an artificially intelligent way to optimise the buildings climate, security, lighting etc. But this does bring up the thorny issue of digital security. What if someone were to hack into a building’s control system?

These questions and more will be addressed within the seminar program at HVACR Live. While nothing will ever replace the kinetic and social benefits of a good trade show, even they are becoming digitised and HVACR Live 2023 is no different. In the run up to the show in April, we are working hard to build a companion app for exhibitors and visitors which will have a full timetable of all the presentations, talks and seminars that will be taking place and where to find them. These questions and more will be addressed within the seminar program at HVACR Live.

Added features will include: a map of the exhibition hall with labelled stalls, amenities, networking area and stage areas to make it easy to find everywhere you could want to visit. To go alongside this, there will be a comprehensive list of exhibitors with their logos and stall numbers and much more.

Event manager Tony Patman said: “It’s clear to see that the HVACR sectors are very hands on and are built on face-to-face relationships. Being able to network, get a hands-on look at new products as well as finding out from the experts how the current hot topics affect those on the front line is an essential part of business. HVACR Live has all of those things in one place, which makes it an essential part of the industry calendar.”

HVACR Live will culminate with the prestigious ACR News Awards being held on the evening of 19 April, showcasing the best and brightest within the air conditioning and refrigeration sectors.

To exhibit please contact Tony Patman