Welcome

Welcome to ACRA 2026

It is my great pleasure to introduce this Preface to the Proceedings of the 12th Asian Conference on Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning (ACRA 2026), to be held May 17–20, 2026, in Taichung City, Taiwan. On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I warmly welcome you and extend my heartfelt thanks to all scholars, professionals, and students who will join us, share their work, and help make ACRA 2026 a vibrant and memorable gathering.

ACRA is convened biennially, with hosting duties rotating among Japan, China, Korea, and Taiwan, and it has grown into a valued tradition for our community since the first conference in Kobe (2002). Since then, we have met in Beijing (2004), Gyeongju (2006), Taipei (2009), Tokyo (2010), Xi’an (2012), Jeju Island (2014), Taipei (2016), Sapporo (2018), Chongqing (2022, online), and Jeju Island (2024). We are truly delighted to welcome you to Taichung City for ACRA 2026 as we continue this journey together.

ACRA 2026 brings together researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to exchange ideas, share practical experience, and explore the newest directions in Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVAC&R). Because HVAC&R shapes everyday comfort while also enabling industrial and commercial progress, our discussions also touch on timely challenges such as energy conservation, carbon-dioxide reduction, and data center cooling. We hope this conference will spark new collaborations and lasting friendships across the region and beyond.

For ACRA 2026, we received 162 paper submissions covering a wide spectrum of themes, including: Compressor Technologies; Heat Pump Systems; Heat Exchanger Technologies; New and Natural Refrigerants; Heat Transfer Technologies; Ventilation and Air Distribution; Automatic Controls; Cryogenics; Sorption (Absorption/Adsorption) Refrigeration; Thermal/Fluid Science; Advanced Refrigeration Systems; Innovative HVAC&R Systems; Energy Utilization and Conservation; Renewable and New Energy Applications; Food Technology and Cold Chain; Indoor Air Quality; District Heating and Cooling; Application of IT Technology in HVAC&R; and AI and Big Data in HVAC&R. We believe these contributions reflect both the depth of ongoing research and the exciting momentum of innovation in our field.

My sincere gratitude goes to the authors, reviewers, session organizers, and volunteers for their dedication and hard work. I hope you will find the technical program inspiring, the discussions engaging, and the networking opportunities genuinely rewarding. While you are here, I also encourage you to enjoy Taichung City—its culture, cuisine, and warm hospitality. I very much look forward to welcoming you to ACRA 2026.

Yean-Der Kuan, Ph.D.

Conference Chair, 12th Asian Conference on Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning (ACRA 2026)

President of the Taiwan Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers

Dean of the College of Engineering, National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taiwan