2023


JATL visited KRAAC in Korea for witness the performance tests

May 2023

 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories required by ISO/IEC 17025.

 JATL visited Korea Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning Assessment Center (KRAAC), a Korean testing agency, for witness inter-laboratory comparison.

 Since interlaboratory comparisons should be made with laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025, JATL acquired ISO/IEC 17025 certification from JAB (Japan Accreditation Board) in October 2004, KRAAC is also accredited by KOLAS (Korea Laboratory accreditation Scheme) in South Korea, this was discussed and an action plan was formulated when KRAAC visited JATL last December.

 Performance tests were conducted on one room air conditioner and one package air conditioner, starting with KRAAC.

 We plan to conduct performance tests at JATL in September 2023.

 During this business trip, we visited the air conditioner sales floor of a large-scale mass retailer in Seoul.

 There were few wall-mounted air conditioners on display, and floor-standing types were mainly on display. All air conditioners had labeling (energy labels).

 In addition to the air conditioner, there was a refrigerator dedicated to KIMCHI.

Year 2022, Resumed overseas activities (continuing from last month)
<Support for the activities to popularize energy-saving air conditioners>

Continuing from last month, we will introduce the overseas activities of the JATL

Two projects in ASEAN and Brazil will be introduced this month.

March 2023

 Participation in the "Project on Energy Conservation Promotion for Energy-intensive Industries and Equipment" agreed between Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) and Brazil's Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) in December 2019

 Brazil has a high proportion of dependence on hydroelectric power for electricity, and there are unstable factors in the supply due to weather and other factors. The government is actively working to maintain a stable supply of electricity and control power consumption. The dissemination of high-efficiency air conditioners has been emphasized as it directly contributes to the reduction of power consumption.

 On June 22, 2021, the Ministry of Economy and the National Institute for Industrial Standardization and Quality of Metrology (INMETRO) approved the application of ISO 16358-1 CSPF (Cooling Seasonal Performance Factor) to test and evaluate the energy-saving performance of air conditioners as Ordinance No. 269. . Since 2019, the Energy Conservation Center (ECCJ) has taken the lead in promoting the Japanese government's support for the smooth enforcement of this ordinance.

 In this project, JATL participated in activities to support the development of core human resources at CEPEL and LABELO PUCRS, which are the two key test laboratories that play a significant role in evaluating the energy-saving performance of air conditioners.

The main activities are as follows.

  • Online training with text and video
  • Implementing the performance test of the air conditioner for calibration at JATL, and conducting the Round Robin Test (RRT) with the local test laboratory.
  • Performance test witnessing and practical training at CEPEL (December 2022)
  • Two-day lecture on testing methods, equipment principles, and calibration methods at JATL (February 2023)
  • The wrap-up meeting was held online in March 2023, all activities of JATL ended with this meeting.

September 2022

 "Participation in activities to improve the technical level of performance tests related to CSPF (Cooling Seasonal Performance Factor) of air conditioners in ASEAN."

 The official name of the project is "Promotion of higher efficient air conditioners in ASEAN through harmonization standards and strengthening of market verification and enforcement capabilities (phase Ⅰ)”。

 This project is funded by JAIF (Japan ASEAN Integration Fund) and aims to accelerate the spread of high-efficiency air conditioners in ASEAN member countries and directly reduce electricity consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the residential sector.

 ACE (ASEAN Center for Energy) played a leading role in promoting the implementation of the whole project, and IEEJ (The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan) played a leading role in Japan team. JATL participated in Work Package 3 (WP3: Capacity building for testing laboratories under contract from IEEJ).

 WP3 is an activity to improve the technical level of performance tests related to CSPF (Cooling Seasonal Performance Factor) of air conditioners for eight testing laboratories in five ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia).

 Originally, engineers from JATL were scheduled to visit testing laboratories in each country and give the practical training and lectures. Due to the spread of COVID-19, JATL provided texts and videos for three subjects including the test standards and test methods of air conditioner as an alternative program, and test engineers from testing laboratories in each country attend them through the JATL online training site.

 In addition, testing laboratories in each country conducted performance tests using air conditioners that had been tested by JATL, compared the results, and identified issues. JATL remotely witnessed each test and provided real-time guidance and support through cameras.

 WP3 kicked off in July 2021, worked for about a year, and ended with the closing meeting in September 2022.

Year 2022, Resumed overseas activities
<Visitors from overseas>

Year 2022 is the year of resuming overseas activities.

Due to the spread of COVID-19, the overseas activities of JATL have been canceled or changed since March 2020.

Although the restrictions were relaxed in 2022, we were able to accumulate some achievements while maintaining infection prevention measures. We would like to introduce overseas visitors who visited JATL.

February 2023

November 18, 2022

Delegation of GHP Technical Tour from Korea Visiting JATL

 We regularly conduct Interlaboratory test of air conditioners with Korea Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Assessment Center (KRAAC).
Interlaboratory test is an important activity in maintaining the test accuracy required by ISO/IEC 17025.

 This time, KRAAC visited JATL together with the Korea Energy Agency and gas companies involved in the GHP (gas engine heat pump) business in South Korea (total of 13 people).

 In 2010, JATL’s package air conditioner test facility / PAC2 (air enthalpy measurement device) was completed, and now we are measuring the performance of package air conditioners, including GHP. We introduced JATL’s activities and explained the test facilities.

photo

December 7, 2022

Energy conservation officer of the Government of Jordan (JICA project) visiting JATL

 This project is organized by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to invite Jordanian government officials (in charge of energy conservation) to Japan and conduct training on energy conservation in the housing sector.

 The training program includes the Top Runner system and Standard & Labeling system related to Japanese home appliances, and the visiting JATL is a part of the training.

 On that day, 15 government representatives, including those from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources visited JATL, and we introduced JATL’s activities and explained the test facilities.

December 8, 2022

The Project for Capacity Development on Energy Efficiency and Conservation of Egypt (JICA project) visiting JATL

 This project is a technical cooperation project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This is a support activity for improving operational capabilities.

 The Home Appliance Label System, which is promoted by the government of Egypt ,operates energy-saving performance labels for home appliances, including room air conditioners, and they are working to further improve the system.

 As part of this project, 14 people from the government of Egypt, including members of the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy visited JATL, and we introduced JATL’s activities and explained the test facilities.