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Shaping Tomorrow's Built Environment Today
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On Sept. 23, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a final rule to establish the Emissions Reduction and Reclamation (ER&R) program to better manage, recycle and reuse climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act. The final rule includes provisions that will reduce wasteful leaks from large refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment and will support American leadership and innovation in the development of clean solutions to tackle these heat-trapping emissions. Read more
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Microsoft and Constellation Energy have announced a deal that would re-open Pennsylvania's shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear plant. The agreement would let Microsoft purchase the entirety of the plant's roughly 835 megawatts of energy generation—enough to power approximately 800,000 homes—for a span of 20 years starting in 2028, pending regulatory approval. The actual electricity from the Three Mile Island plant, which would be renamed Crane Clean Energy Center, wouldn't be earmarked for any specific use and would go to local interconnections rather than directly to Microsoft facilities. Read more
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It's a signature project of Germany's environmentalist “Greens” party—instead of heating homes with fossil fuels, Germans should use heat pumps based on air or groundwater. But demand for these devices has plummeted.
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and his party joined a three-party coalition government in 2022 and successfully launched a campaign to change how Germans heat their homes, which caused record-setting production and sales of heat pumps in the country. Toward the end of 2023, sales of heat pumps dropped, a big blow to the government's ambitious goal of installing 500,000 heat pumps annually. The reason? Confusion and complexity about new laws. Read more
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Surgical patients release waste anesthetic gases that can cause potential health effects for people who care for patients in the post-anesthesia care unit. Kishor Khankari, Ph.D., Fellow ASHRAE, discusses optimizing its ventilation design to effectively remove these gases and reduce exposure. This technical feature appears in the upcoming October 2024 issue of ASHRAE Journal.
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By Kelley Cramm, P.E., Life Member ASHRAE
This column discusses hazards in K–12 and higher education science laboratories and examines design considerations to mitigate exposure risks and maintain health and safety. Topics include applicable codes and standards, containment, exhaust requirements, fume hoods, emergency plumbing fixtures and emergency gas shutoff. Download here
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ASHRAE is accepting abstract submissions for the 2025 Annual Conference to be held in Phoenix, Arizona, June 21-25, 2025, at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown. Conference papers are requested for the following tracks: “Industrial Ventilation, Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning and Energy Utilization," "Heat Pumps, Refrigerants and Decarbonization," "Onsite Energy Storage," "Workforce Development," "Research Summit," "Fundamentals and Applications" and "HVAC&R Systems and Equipment." Abstracts (400 words or less) are due November 20, 2024. All accepted papers will be considered for publication in Science and Technology for the Built Environment, ASHRAE’s research journal. Read more
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For the first time, Texas passed California to become the top solar state in the country. The American Clean Power Association, which represents over 800 energy storage, wind, utility-scale solar, transmission and clean hydrogen companies, found that Texas is home to 21,932 MW of capacity. Their quarterly market report found that, by adding 3,293 MW of new solar year-to-date, Texas has the most utility-scale solar capacity installed, comprising 20% of the overall U.S. solar fleet. Read more
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