RACA Journal: ISSN 1812-772X
Hot and chilled
COME RAIN
OR SHINE
I
always try to avoid starting conversations by talking about the weather.
It reminds me of that line, “Be glad the weather changes every now and
then, else nine out of 10 people wouldn’t be able to start a conversation.”
However, I don’t think we can avoid talking about the weather any longer …
The most exciting thing at Chillventa 2018 wasn’t necessarily any of the new
and improved equipment on display — it was the weather. This was my third trip
to Nuremberg for this grand international show, but every other memory has
been of chattering teeth and oversized jackets that won’t fit into my luggage.
But thanks to the peculiar changing weather patterns, last year I only packed
one jacket and ended up forgetting it at the train station in Germany because
it was too hot to wear it and I was carrying it around — eventually leaving it
somewhere for good.
The HVAC industry in Europe rejoiced at the heatwaves, boasting an increase
of 30% in sales thanks to the increased demand for cooling. I came back home
and walked straight into 40°C weather in Cape Town the next week, only to
be followed by misty rain the week after. Needless to say, after three weeks of
continuously packing for the wrong season, I was as sick as a dog.
But it’s not just our health that’s a concern. Between all the headlines
around the world of heatwaves and storms and abnormal weather patterns, it’s
becoming impossible to deny that climate change is real (I honestly don’t know
how such people still exist).
After Chillventa (read more on page 12), I attended the SAIRAC Cape Town
annual lunch, where the guest speaker was a researcher who spends her time
at our base in Antarctica (read about the lunch on page 25). During the Q&A
session after her talk, the majority of the questions centred around climate
change and the possible impact that harmful refrigerants had on the ozone
layer.
The guest speaker confirmed that climate change is definitely real and that
the phase-out of refrigerants has in fact made a difference. But more research
is needed to see just how deep the problem lies. That is why we have a research
base in Antarctica (SANAE IV) to do all this research. And it’s actually been there
for a while.
I remember when I first started, I was fascinated by this project — just
the logistics of running a base in such a remote location. So, when Johan
Scheepers of Royal HaskoningDHV contacted me about doing a project on
the refurbishment of the SANAE IV base, I was beyond excited! Read more on
page 42 to see just how tricky it was to get all the new equipment to site (and
installed) in such harsh conditions, not to mention without any downtime.
Welcome back, everyone. Let’s start 2019 with a bang! RACA
Editor | ilana@interactmedia.co.za
www.hvacronline.co.za
RACA Journal I January 2019
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