Green paragon

Swegon business development director Carl Tobisson

That is a good question. I think that, to a certain extent, say up until two years’ ago, the hotel industry has focused on the façade and external aesthetics, with cost-cutting on things inside that people cannot really see. But now in the UAE and the region as a whole, people are looking at reducing the total amount of energy consumed by their buildings. A total of 40% of energy is consumed by buildings. This is because people acknow-ledge that the well-being of people is of the utmost importance.

What challenges are you facing?

First of all, the economy needs to start picking up again. The biggest hurdle would be that lots and lots of consultants and property owners in this region like to use traditional systems. So in order to get your products into these new buildings, you have to be patient. You need to be able to show people the system already installed in existing buildings. Above all, you have to be persistent.

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We have not looked very much at that, but obviously this is an opportunity as well. The Paragon pro-duct is very new, and is part of our aim to target not only new developments, but existing ones as well. We are very much trying to meet the needs of the builders.

What is Paragon?

This is a new induction cooling unit for the hotel industry unveiled by Swegon at The Big 5 last year. The product has just been launched in the UAE market. Swegon has already secured a 300-room contract for an airport hotel in Oslo. Unlike a traditional FCU, Paragon has no need for filters or drainage, so there is no risk of bacterial growth.

Another advantage is that Paragon is available as a standard modular unit, with all the necessary actuators and valves premounted. This results in a significant overall saving in installation costs. The small size of the unit, which is only 180 mm high, means that the false ceiling space can be reduced dramatically as well.

Paragon has other unique features: air distribution is parallel with the ceiling, which means it can be placed at the rear of a room; adjustable supply air grilles direct the air vertically; an anti-draught function controls horizontal diffusion or air direction; and the enclosed unit means that the recirculated air never comes into contact with the space above the false ceiling, further enhancing indoor air quality.