EME Newsletter MEssage #01/2023

NEWSLETTER
INSIGHTS
FEATURE ARTICLE
An ear to the ground:
The user experience of cooling
From dealing with cheap fixes to bearing costly consumption, how do tenants and property
owners in the UAE feel about their cooling? Eurovent Middle East shares the accounts of
everyday people and looks at the complex relationships between tenants, landlords and
maintenance companies and their impact on comfort, energy efficiency and IAQ.
articles or TV coverage, that’s
how we measure dollar value by
saying you got USD 350,000 worth
of ads, but you paid USD 8,000, so
companies must remember the
benefits might not always translate
to a company objective metric.”
A reminder of why content and
case studies matter
These issues are further
compounded by the increasing
number of HVAC conferences in the
UAE, overlapping event schedules
and fragmented attendee base
and overall difficulty in standing
out and attracting attention amidst
competition. Against this backdrop
and as a final word, Ebrahimi says
it is important to remember that
content is key for a successful
conference at the end of the day.
The agenda and speaker line-up, he
says, will always be the biggest draw
for people, especially as not enough
emphasis on content and too much
emphasis on sales pitches can be
demotivating for audiences.
Ebrahimi also firmly believes that
case studies are the most effective
tool in the presenters’ toolbox.
“From a sales, marketing, and
even psychological perspective,
case studies are the way to go,” he
says. “The number one thing I say
as a consultant is case studies are
the best type of content because
this is the most effective way to
show why your product or solution
works and how it tangibly helped
someone. Combining this with
good communication – and even
story-telling skills – is how you win
psychologically; if you can highlight
a challenge a past client faced and
tell a success story about how your
solutions helped them, any audience
who is listening and faces the same
challenge will feel like you’re talking
directly to them. Your message will
resonate far more effectively in this
way”.
Ebrahimi says that this is a far more
effective method of persuasion
than simply listing the features
and functions of your products
and solutions, leaving with a final
reminder to “speak more on the
how, and not just the what”.
Mahyar Ebrahimi is an experienced
conference and events professional,
having spent the past 6 years
helping key public and private
sector stakeholders in the MENA
region create unique platforms
for collaboration, cooperation, and
knowledge-sharing. His areas of
focus and expertise include Smart
Cities, Sustainability, Health and
Fitness, and everything Tech.
He is currently the Head of Content
for Strategic Intelligence Forum,
where he strategically supports
public authorities launch their key
initiatives, through conferences and
events, digital content and more. He
is also the host of a weekly show,
the BeyondX Podcast, speaking with
industry leaders on topics related
to sustainability, technology, urban
planning and city design, health,
and fitness, and more.
Over the years, Eurovent Middle
East has advocated for minimum
standards and stronger enforcement
of critical building regulations
in relation to the HVACR sector.
Markus Lattner, Managing Director
of Eurovent Middle East, says,
“From ensuring better equipment
to secure the reliability and energy
efficiency of operations to supporting
training for better maintenance of
installed systems, we, along with
our members, have cultivated strong
partnerships with government
regulators and organisations to
create better pathways and support
the sustainability objectives for the
built environment.”
The objective of the association has
always been to improve the quality of
life of inhabitants aside from working
towards better energy efficiency
and sustainability. This is a critical
topic in a region like the Middle
East where cooling is not a luxury
but a necessity, and in this article,
Eurovent Middle East investigates
the diverse range of personal
experiences that everyday people
have when it comes to their cooling
and ventilation systems and the real
cost behind them.
One such person is Olivier, a tenant
and owner of both new and older
developments. “We bought an
apartment in the Marina, which
had a centralised AC system at the
building level, with a thermostat
in each of the two bedrooms and
one in the living area,” he shared.
“Only the one in the living area had
an automatic function, and I never
could get proper quotes to replace
the ones in the bedroom that had the
fan permanently on or off.” In over 3
years in the apartment, Olivier says
the overall system was very reliable,
and due to it being centralised at the
building level, it cost an average of
AED300/month year-round.
Olivier’s tenanted villa in Jumeirah
Park, however, has been the cause of
more headaches, and more money.
“We have 8 AC units there, and
although we've made some proper
maintenance on ducts, frequent
AC servicing on all units, and even
redone windows sealing, we still
have some humidity and noise
issues,” he shares. “In one of the
bedrooms, we have spent a couple
of thousand (dirhams) on diagnostic
and to rebuild a blower fan. Our
tenants are still experiencing
excessive noise.” Olivier shares that
“well-known companies" wanted
to charge him over AED12,000
to change all the piping without
pinpointing the problem, while
others a couple of hundred just to
investigate further.
At the mercy of the landlord
Maintenance, or even replacement,
of cooling systems, is a problem
many UAE tenants have encountered
at some point or another. Eva is one
such tenant, sharing her experience
campaigning to replace the air
conditioning units in her 3-bedroom
villa in Ras Al Khaimah. “At its peak,
in the heat of summer, we paid AED
3000 a month,” she says. “After the
replacement, our bill was reduced
to AED 1500.” Thankfully, Eva says,
the landlord showed initiative in
trying to procure higher quality units
instead of the cheapest available in
the market.
Landlord responsibility is a critical
topic, and Rafiq, both a tenant and
a landlord for several properties,
believes it’s important for both
parties to clearly understand
their respective responsibilities.
“In general, in the UAE, any
maintenance and repairs above AED
www.eurovent.me SEPTEMBER JUNE 2023 2022 VOL. 09 01