Amazon in court over illegal F-gas sales
Wednesday, 10 October 2018
A group of Italian refrigeration contractors is taking online retailer Amazon to court for continuing to sell HFC refrigerant without requiring buyers to be F-gas certified. With the European Commission, EU member governments and authorities across Europe failing to act to stem the flagrant abuses of the F-gas regulations, 18 member companies of Italy’s CNA,
- Published in Industry News
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PLC and DCS: How Do They Differ & How Did They Come About?
Tuesday, 09 October 2018
In a nutshell, a PLC or programmable logic controller is a ruggedized computer used for automating processes. A DCS or distributed control system is similar to a PLC in that it has rugged computer controllers, however, the DCS contains multiple autonomous controllers that are distributed throughout a system, also used for automating processes. A Little
- Published in PLC
It’s Time to Focus on Building Regulation Enforcement
Monday, 01 October 2018
Chris Bielby MBE, Chair of the Electrical Safety Roundtable, examines the progress being made on monitoring and enforcing Part P of the Building Regulations, and asks what more could be done. When the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister introduced Part P of the Building Regulations back in 2005, it was amid concerns that the
- Published in Industry News
F-Gas enforcement fears raised over online refrigerant sales
Thursday, 27 September 2018
Online sales of refrigerant are creating significant challenges for enforcing F-Gas regulation, Refcom head Graeme Fox has said in a reflection of wider European concerns The cooling industry has expressed growing concern over the apparent inability of regulatory authorities to restrict online sales of refrigerant that does not comply with F-Gas regulation. Refcom head Graeme
- Published in Industry News
What causes AC refrigerant loss in a car?
Friday, 21 September 2018
Does car air conditioning refrigerant naturally dissipate over time? If so, how long does it take for car refrigerant to be “used up”? If a car is low on refrigerant could the cause of the low refrigerant be natural dissipation of the refrigerant? Refrigerant is not consumed or used up in normal day-to-day operations, but
- Published in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration
The Next Generation of HMI and SCADA
Thursday, 20 September 2018
Almost everyone today is intimately familiar with some form of human-machine interface (HMI). We use them to send messages and watch videos (smartphones and tablets), create documents and drawings (laptop computers) and find our way around (GPS systems). HMIs are even appearing on coffeemakers, large appliances and other consumer goods. In the world of industrial
- Published in Industry News
F-gas will remain in “no deal” Brexit
Monday, 17 September 2018
The UK government has confirmed that it will maintain the requirements of the F-gas regulations in the event of a “no deal” Brexit. While the F-gas regulations will remain, a “no deal” could mean that UK-certified F-gas engineers may need to be re-certified by a body in an EU country if they wish to work
- Published in Industry News
Cyber threats real for industrial automation systems
Wednesday, 12 September 2018
The ability to connect information technology (IT) systems with operational technology (OT) systems, such as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), gives businesses access to information for a comprehensive picture of what is happening across the enterprise’s operations. It also comes with considerable IT and OT security-related risks that
- Published in Industry News
‘End this F-gas farce’
Monday, 10 September 2018
The supposedly ground-breaking European F-gas regulations have become a farce, with the authorities seemingly unwilling or unable to stem sales of illegal refrigerant. A major part of the regulations, the HFC phase-down, was seen as a model for the rest of the world, an example of Europe’s pre-eminence in the fight against climate change. Sadly,
- Published in Industry News
Sooner Or Later: Electrical System Failures
Thursday, 06 September 2018
Invest in preventive maintenance, rather than a “run it till it fails” approach for electrical equipment. lectricity is vital to society’s way of life. It enables the daily lives of citizens and allows businesses to thrive and be productive. This essential resource is taken for granted, often to a fault, in many circles. The “run
- Published in Industry News