ASHRAE Journal - November 2022 - 13

INDUSTRY NEWS
U.K. and Czech Governments Cap Energy Bills
Winter can be a heavy burden on both the electric grid
and on consumers' finances-governments are looking
to provide aid by capping energy costs. In the U.K., the
government will pay for nearly half of all business energy
bills for six months (beginning last month), which
is projected to cost between $ 11 billion and $22.6 billion.
Consumers previously saw a similar benefit through a
two-year plan that caps average household bills for heating
and electricity at $2,828 per year. The Czech government
will be providing up $1.2 billion to help businesses
survive the high energy costs spurred by Russia's
invasion of Ukraine. The aid is expected to be directed at
larger, high-consumption businesses. Individual companies
will be able to receive up to $8.1 million.
South Africa Forced into Nationwide Blackouts
The state-owned power utility in South Africa, Eskom,
is implementing a rolling blackout schedule to save electricity
and ease grid demand. Eskom produces almost
95% of South Africa's electricity, sourced from aging
and poorly maintained coal-fired power stations. The
blackouts come with just a few hours' notice-they first
required businesses and homes to go without electricity
for more than 10 hours a day, which has since been
reduced to eight hours a day. Eskom has used 2,000
diesel-powered generators in the interim until it can
procure 1,000 megawatts of electricity from renewable
energy sources.
Thailand Starts Carbon Credit Exchange
To reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 (40%
by 2030), Thailand has launched its first carbon credit
exchange composed of 12,000 private companies across
a variety of sectors. The Federation of Thai Industries
(FTIX) will allow firms and government agencies to
trade carbon credits and track their emissions, which
would be made publicly available. The FTIX currently
only operates within Thailand, but there is hope that the
market will grow across Southeast Asia.
DoD Institutes Climate Drill for Blackout Responses
The U.S. Defense Department (DoD) and each of its
military departments are now required to conduct at
least five blackout scenarios to prepare for increased
power outages caused by climate change. The " energy
resilience readiness exercises " have taken place at a
few bases over the last two years but are now mandatory
across the Defense Department. These drills test
readiness and response to power outages at military
bases, simulating blackouts caused by natural disasters
or other events.
Visit www.ashrae.org/about/government-affairs for
more dispatches and other information.
Honeywell Showcases R&D Lab
BUFFALO, N.Y.ÑHoneywell Advanced Materials showcased its
Buffalo, N.Y., Research and Development lab during a
recent tour.
Kaimi Gao, lead research and development engineer
and scientist at Honeywell Advanced Materials,
explained that the Refrigeration Lab tests refrigerants
under different conditions for different applications
and climates in its outdoor chamber.
The Refrigeration Lab also has an indoor chamber.
Kaimi Gao, Lead R&D Engineer/Scientist, Honeywell Advanced Materials, discusses
the test setup of a residential heat pump system in the outdoor test chamber.
Ryan Hulse, director of research and development said
that some of the work involves retrofi tting old systems
with Honeywell's HFO refrigerants. " Most [customers]
don't want to replace their equipment that's in their
supermarket. They want to keep that same piece of
equipment, and so they challenge us. They say, 'How
can you make your new refrigerant work our with our
equipment with minimal changes.' "
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ASHRAE Journal - November 2022

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