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Author: Laura Timberlake
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Supermarkets hold the key to a cool future
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is working with Enel X to launch “Unlocking Flexible Demand in the Commercial Refrigeration Sector”, a program that will assist with integrating renewable energy sources into electricity networks. ARENA has granted Enel X $3.7 million in funding to demonstrate how the flexible demand systems can work in the commercial […]
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Building equality in gender policies
Governments around Australia are pushing the building and construction industry to take action on gender equality policies. Earlier this year the Victorian government revealed the Building Equality Policy (BEP), aimed at creating training and employment opportunities for women through government procurement on building, infrastructure, civil engineering and any other capital works projects. Under the gender […]
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Expanding the clean energy workforce
Solar Victoria is offering free and low-cost packages for women to take up apprenticeships and training in the renewable energy industry – including air conditioning and refrigeration. The Home Heating and Cooling Upgrades has invested $11 million in comprehensive training and workforce development packages. Women currently make up less than 1 per cent of the […]
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Sensory heating and cooling mattress promotes sleep
Bioengineers at the University of Texas in Austin, USA, have developed a sensory heating and cooling mattress and pillow system that can help people fall asleep. It is designed to manipulate bodily temperatures through sensors connected to the skin. Research fellow at Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Shahab […]
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Marine life inspires dynamic buildings
Researchers from the University of Toronto have created a new, low-cost “optofluidic” system that could help buildings save energy by dynamically changing the appearance of their exteriors. The research is inspired by marine life such as krill, shrimp and crabs. Master’s student in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Raphael Kay, compares the new technology […]
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Cooler buildings with rooftop wrapping
Researchers at Northeastern University have developed a new method of cooling buildings by wrapping rooftops in “cooling paper”. They believe the material could lower carbon emissions, electricity bills and reduce the need for air conditioning. College of Engineering professor Yi Zheng and PhD researcher Andrew Caratenuto started a company called Planck Energies to test the cooling paper in […]
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Webinar to explore unequal access to cooling
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is hosting a webinar series on global and regional populations at risk from the lack of access to sustainable cooling in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. A recent report titled Chilling Prospects: Tracking Sustainable Cooling for All 2022 has revealed the cooling access challenges that countries face today […]
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Thermal storage system based on sand
The world’s first commercial sand-based thermal energy storage system has been developed to back up a heating network in Finland. Technology company Polar Night Energy and utility organisation Vatajankoski joined forces to create the system, which is adjacent to a power plant. It has 100kW heating power and 8MWh capacity, and can heat the sand […]
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Indoor air quality risks
AIRAH is holding a Streamline webinar about indoor air quality risks on Thursday, July 14. It will explore the indoor air quality risks that can arise by focusing on the indicators that can be tracked in a world with increasing concern for the health of building occupants, and building resilience to the impacts of climate […]
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Lessons in circular economy
Construction group Built is hosting an event on Thursday, July 28 called “Circular Economy: Lessons for Australia and the built environment”. Being held both face to face in Sydney and online, the event will be headlined by Dr Jaqueline Cramer, Chair of the Holland Circular Hotspot. She will discuss the Netherlands’ experience in developing circularity […]
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Castrol and Submer to develop data centre cooling
Lubricant brand Castrol and immersion cooling systems organisation Submer have signed an agreement aiming to accelerate the adoption of immersion cooling as a pathway to more efficient and sustainable data centre operations. The companies plan to develop a new generation of immersion cooling fluids and collaborate on developing the global supply and standards. Immersion cooling is […]
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Australasian Indoor Building Management Symposium
The Australasian Indoor Building Management Symposium is being held from September 22–23 in Mackay, Queensland. The Symposium will take place as part of the Coach8 Spring Break festival. Hosted by the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), it will offer an opportunity to hear from top instructors in the restoration industry. The event […]
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International Women in Engineering Day
International Women in Engineering Day is taking place on June 23 with the theme “Inventors and Innovators”. Also known as INWED, the event celebrates the achievements of female engineers around the world. The Women’s Engineering Society (WES) in the UK originally launched the initiative, which now has an international reach and UNESCO patronage. The idea […]
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Survey open on energy audit standards
A survey is under way to provide feedback on Australia’s energy auditing standards, and ultimately help businesses identify and implement high-quality energy-efficiency projects. Standards Australia released a series of standards for energy auditing in 2014 that set out the minimum requirements for commissioning and conducting three prescribed types of audits that identify opportunities for cost-effective […]
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NATSPEC offers training on specification writing
NATSPEC is hosting seminars across Australia in July and August to provide an introduction to specification writing. The seminars will cover the detailed use of SPECbuilder Live (for use on all operating systems) and Microsoft Word in specification writing, using NATSPEC and/or AUS-SPEC templates. Topics will include: The role of specifications as a tool for quality […]
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UNEP looks to the sea for a cool change in Egypt
The International Energy Agency states that cooling technology creates more than 7 per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. In Egypt during summer, approximately half of the country’s electricity goes towards air conditioning. Temperatures can hit 40°C and remain in the high thirties throughout the season, especially in cities experiencing the urban heat island […]
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Government safeguard for construction industry
The Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) is promoting a financial safeguard that may be of interest to businesses in the building and construction industry, including HVAC&R: the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR). The PPSR is a public noticeboard of security interests in personal property, and provides a way for businesses to help get their invoices paid […]
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A deep dive into refrigeration systems
AIRAH is hosting a Technology Talk webinar on Thursday, June 30 about refrigeration systems. The session will include an onsite live demonstration streamed to the audience. Owner of Freeze Point Refrigeration, Morty Al Mandalawy, will present information on: The impact of system superheat versus evaporator superheat How the refrigeration system should be evacuated correctly How […]
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Bougie AC units trending on social media
A new fashion trend has been taken up by influencers in the USA. Forget clothes and shoes, people are now joining waitlists for new air conditioning units. Older AC units can be quite large, loud and ugly, especially in US apartment blocks where “window rattler” units are common. But brands such as July, Windmill and […]
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Common ontology needed for big data
CEO of Buildings IOT, Brian Turner, has been announced as the keynote at AIRAH’s Big Data and Analytics Forum 2022 on Thursday, June 23, and will highlight the urgent need for industry to adopt a common standard for organising building data. There are many standards for naming data in the built environment. Although common naming […]