Explore trends and issues impacting our industry
A recent report from Navigant shows that just from implementing existing technology solutions for electrification of transport, energy efficient heating and cooling of buildings and sector integration – urban areas can bridge half of the gap needed to reach the 1.5°C Paris Agreement target in urban areas
Guest bio Ian Stonington, Marketing Manager for Danfoss Editron, has been in the electric vehicle industry since 2012. Much of that time has been with UQM Technologies, which was acquired by Danfoss Editron in mid-2019. Stonington’s previous positions include Account Manager and Global Sales Account Manager. Stonington is passionate about electrification and what the future
Buildings — with their thirst for electricity, natural gas, and fuel oil — are a major contributor of atmospheric carbon. However, the building stock in the United States turns over, on average, every century, meaning today’s carbon emission output cannot be resolved without deep changes in existing buildings. The task is transformation. The challenges are
Many organizations today are working to identify ways to meet decarbonization goals, reducing their dependence on carbon-rich fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, oil, and propane. Their goal: to dramatically reduce their emissions of the greenhouse gases implicated in climate change, while, hopefully, also decreasing their energy costs and bolstering organizational reputation at the same time. For
A safe transition to low-GWP refrigerants in the US is made more complex by the Montreal Protocol, the original international treaty finalized in 1987 to phase down Ozone Depleting Substances, or ODS, which included HFC predecessors CFCs and HCFCs. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol amended the international treaty in 2016 to reduce greenhouse
In the previous post, we looked at the global path to a safe transition to low-GWP refrigerants, and the impact that actions by states like California are having on creating a patchwork of regulations and move us toward the use of highly flammable refrigerants. Here, I trace how the move impacts standards and codes, as
The global transition to low-GWP refrigerants is beginning in a disorderly manner in the United States — the world’s most mature HVAC market. In the absence of a federal framework, individual states are beginning to regulate HFCs. A handful of states are following SNAP Rules 20 and 21, the EPA regulations that were vacated by
Central to the life and operation of any community is its infrastructure. From its roads and other transportation platforms to its sewers and waste treatment facilities, and from its telecommunications and power generation and distribution networks to its building stock, a community’s infrastructure not only defines its quality of life in the moment, but also
For vessel owners interested in reducing fossil fuel consumption to meet IMO 2020 international marine emission standards, hybridization and electrification technologies complement or offer an effective alternative with many benefits. A basic definition of hybridization is any system with two or more sources of energy acting together to accomplish a task. In the automotive world,
The American building stock as a whole turns over at a rate of only one percent per year. Transformation that takes a century to complete is not transformation. That means the existing building stock needs to be retrofitted for efficiency and resilience—and those retrofits need to be deep. With the lack of federal leadership, states
With Congress and the Administration still plotting their next moves in the wake of the federal courts’ vacating of SNAP rules 20 and 21, many states are pledging to regulate HFCs themselves. And while the risks of this approach, particularly the fracturing of the U.S. HVAC market, have been well documented, one aspect remains relatively
In order for the world to meet the climate goals of limiting global warming temperature rise to no more than 2oC, we will need to make a significant investment in energy efficiency and renewable forms of energy. On the other hand, the cost of doing nothing would likely run into the many trillions of dollars
The dialogue on buildings and energy is quickly shifting. Not that many years ago the focus was on the push for more efficient equipment—an HVAC unit with a higher SEER. Then came the recognition that such progress had both practical limits and limits written into the laws of physics. Attention began to shift to systems thinking—how
Currently, 282 cities have signed on to the ‘We Are Still In’ Group, and in support, the C40 Cities initiative (now actually 94 cities around the globe) and American Cities Climate Challenge are just two of the organizations that provide for cities to share best practices. Among those best practices are energy benchmarking and disclosure
If you’ve been in facility management long enough, you’ve encountered a few of these problems before: variable speed pumps that run close to 100% much of the time; a chiller that labors with low Delta T; or, worst of all, complaints of hot and cold spots in occupied spaces. So, what do you do? Look
One of the barriers to the new refrigerants is the recognition of flammable refrigerants in building codes. Codes dictate so much about building construction and what mechanical equipment can be used. There are codes for fire protection, building construction, mechanical systems, and other aspects of buildings; all affect the HVACR system. A good article on
Henry Ford once said, “You can have any color you want as long as it’s black”—a slogan that launched the early industrial model. And still today industry relies on economies of scale—and scaling means as little product differentiation as possible within a product line. Industrial efficiency thrives on product commoditization, but in a competitive global
Guest bio John Mandyck joined Urban Green Council in 2018 as its first-ever CEO. He capped a 25-year career as Chief Sustainability Officer for United Technologies Corporation, a Fortune 45 global leader in the building, aerospace and food refrigeration industries. He also serves as a Visiting Scientist at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of
John speaks with Clay Nesler about building energy efficiency, especially how it ties to economic recovery and resilience in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Their discussion includes some of the various efficiency standards throughout the world and different approaches to retrofitting existing buildings.
Gust bio Jae Chon, Director of Strategic Markets for Chesapeake Systems, has more than 30 years of experience in the commercial HVAC industry. Starting in building automation systems, he transitioned into mechanical system designs, planning commercial office spaces, laboratories and clean rooms, and specialized industrial processing facilities. For the past 15 years, Chon has worked
John speaks with Jae Chon about hydronic systems. They discuss the basics of hydronics and the importance of proper maintenance and system balancing. Jae makes particular note of how vital balancing is for system performance and longevity. They also touch briefly on industry regulations regarding emissions.
Continuing their conversation from last episode, John and Jeff discuss district energy, this time with a focus on a practical example: Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada. Listen how district energy was applied and what benefits were realized from its utilization.
What is district energy? What is its potential for buildings, building networks/campuses, and cities in North America looking to improve efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower operating costs, and ensure resiliency? How is today’s technology affecting market development? Tune in to this episode for a conversation on district energy (including heating and cooling) with Jeff Flannery, Danfoss’ business development manager in North America.
