Honeywell announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Elster Division of Melrose Industries plc, a leading provider of thermal gas solutions for commercial, industrial, and residential heating systems and gas, water, and electricity meters, including smart meters and software and data analytics solutions, for about $5.1 billion.

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) announced an agreement completed during the Montreal Protocol Open Ended Working Group meeting in Paris, which includes development of a global qualification program for refrigerant supply chain networks.

BuildingIQ, an energy management software company, has announced the deployment of its Predictive Energy Optimization™ platform to BSA Group to promote to its commercial clients. BSA, a technical and commercial services provider to some of Australia’s largest companies, maintains a network of more than 500 contracting companies.

Patricia (Pat) Lupson, executive director of the Association of Air Conditioning Professionals (AACP) — formerly the Air Conditioning Contractors of America - National Capital Chapter (ACCA-NCC) — announced she will retire on Aug. 31, 2015.

The global food service equipment/commercial refrigeration market was valued at $31.54 billion in 2013, and is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.8 percent from 2014 to 2020, representing a value of $44.33 billion in 2020, according to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research.

Energesco Solutions LLC announced it has been awarded exclusive contracts by utility companies Pepco and Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) to provide energy efficiency and water conservation improvements to multifamily properties in Pepco’s and SMECO’s service areas throughout the state of Maryland.

As analyzed and reported by California’s Emerging Technologies Coordinating Council, Bes-Tech announced that Southern California Edison tested the company’s Digi-RTU® HVAC Rooftop Optimization Kit and found an energy reduction of up to 40 percent kW and 50 percent kWh.

Ecovent, maker of an intelligent home zoning system designed to deliver room-by-room climate control, announced that it has closed a $6.9 million Series A funding round led by Emerson Climate Technologies.

Smart thermostats are forecast to take a larger portion of the market this year, accounting for over 40 percent of the nearly 10 million thermostats sold in the U.S., according to new smart home research from Parks Associates.