Wildfires hit South Korea: The Reengineer Monitor #19

'Carbon cashbacks' for retrofits, spray-on concrete - and more!

South Korean firefighters photographed during a recent training exercise. Photo by USAG-Humphreys. Shared under a CC Licence.

Heating and cooling

The Heat Pump Summit, a conference in the UK, will take place in Oxford on 15 April.

UK energy firm Snugg has launched an unusual programme making homeowners eligible for up to £2,000 in “carbon cashbacks” following energy efficiency upgrades or retrofits. The money is sourced from carbon offsetting, which has already drawn criticism from some, but the programme could still incentivise people to improve their home’s insulation, for example, or make other changes that would reduce energy consumption. Smart meter data will reveal how well these interventions have worked, and that in turn will determine how much each homeowner is entitled to receive from the programme.

Here’s something that caught my eye on LinkedIn. Data scientist John Ewbank notes that explaining boiler modulation to lay people can be really tricky. So, he came up with an animation to visualise how it works, and why poor modulation control is so bad for energy efficiency.

Buildings and infrastructure

At the time of writing, deadly wildfires are causing chaos in South Korea. The fires are the largest in the country’s history, according to authorities, and have destroyed many homes. They have also damaged ancient temples and the still-burning fires continue to threaten other important cultural sites.