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Category: News
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Local initiative to reduce ‘outsized’ lab emissions
Australian experts are establishing a local chapter of the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL), with the goal of designing, building and operating more sustainable laboratories and other highly controlled environments. According to I2SL, laboratories have an outsized impact on carbon emissions due to their energy-intensive nature, making it vital that lab owners, managers, designers, […]
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Putting a freeze on meat waste
Although the HVAC&R industry often focuses on improving large-scale refrigeration equipment and practices in the food supply chain, a new report shows that refrigeration in households also requires serious attention to reduce Australia’s alarming levels of meat waste. Home truths The RMIT-led report, supported by the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre and Meat and […]
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Local Jobs National Priority Fund now open
Requests for Proposal (RFP) for the Local Jobs National Priority Fund 2023–2025 are now open. The RFP invites organisations to submit projects ranging from $200,000 to $1 million – GST exclusive – that help address structural and other barriers to employment faced by people in our communities and facilitate job creation. Applications for funding will […]
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EIA flags rogue emissions at fluorochemical plants
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has released a report presenting evidence of high-GWP and ozone-depleting gases being emitted from two major fluorochemical facilities in the US. For the report, EIA investigators used an infrared detection device at the fencelines of two production facilities operated by Honeywell and Chemours in Baton Rouge, LA and Corpus Christi, […]
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NABERS reports positive 2023
NABERS has released its FY23 Annual Report, showing growth and increased interest in its rating tools and enhancements. NABERS has continued to expand in the past financial year, with a growth in Sustainable Portfolios Index ratings (21 per cent), an increase in rated data centres (27 per cent), a 26 per cent increase in offices […]
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Geothermal project to tap underground lake
A Croatian energy company has discovered an underground lake with super-heated water that could supply tens of thousands of homes with clean geothermal electricity. Power company Bukotermal conducted a two-year study before they found the geothermal water source at Lunjkovec – Kutnjak field (located in the Varazdin County), near the Hungary border. The lake is […]
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Rinnai unveils new NATA-accredited Yukawa Lab
Rinnai has received NATA accreditation for its new “Yukawa laboratory”, which was designed, locally built, and commissioned within the company’s Melbourne, Mills Road – MTEC manufacturing facility. The lab is a twin-room 120kW dual chamber enthalpy test laboratory. “It is the largest in Victoria and second largest in Australia,” says Rinnai. “This enhanced facility will […]
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If heat pumps aren’t an HFC quota issue, what is?
The recent report on heat pumps released by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) looked to answer an important question. Would the increased uptake of heat pumps as a result of electrification jeopardise Australia’s HFC phase-down target? The answer it gave was a solid “no”. But although the report may […]
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New solar software to create greener buildings
Researchers at RMIT in Melbourne have developed software that allows architects and engineers to incorporate building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs) into a building’s conceptual design phase. BIPVs are building features such as roof tiles, cladding and windows that double as solar panels. They can cover larger areas of buildings than traditional roof-mounted panels, and capture more energy using […]
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US EPA sets major restrictions on HFCs
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced further actions it will be taking to to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The Biden-Harris administration aims to reduce HFCs by 40 per cent in 2024, and to achieve an 85 per cent reduction by 2036 under the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act – in line […]
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New method for tapping geothermal power
Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) scientists have proposed a new technique which might help prevent “short-circuits” that can cause geothermal power plants to halt production. According to the researchers, the technique has the potential to improve the efficiency of geothermal power. “The public perception of geothermal is that since it’s renewable we should be able […]
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New innovation hub for greener data centres
Danfoss, Google, Microsoft and Schneider Electric have created a new data centre innovation hub in Fredericia, Denmark. The group – together with the Danish Data Center Industry – is launching the Net Zero Innovation Hub For Data Centers with a view to speed up common solutions for the green transition of data centres. According to […]
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Europe forges ahead with HFC phase-out plan
The European Parliament and Council has taken the next – and what appears to be decisive – step towards a new and ambitious phase-out schedule for HFC refrigerants. The deal includes specific phase-out dates for the use of fluorinated gases in sectors where it is “technologically and economically feasible to switch to alternatives”. This includes […]
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Advice on data classification and structure
Building services specialist A.G. Coombs has released an advisory note on classification and structure for building data. “As the construction and property sectors continue to develop and embrace new technologies including digital twins, cognitive buildings, artificial intelligence and machine learning,” says A.G. Coombs, “there is a need to ensure that data systems are suitable to […]
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UNSW launches Institute for Climate Risk & Response
A new research institute will offer advice to industry on how to assess and respond to climate change. Experts and industry leaders in the field of climate change gathered together recently for the launch of the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response (ICRR). The new institute will support the activities of UNSW researchers from the faculties […]
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Heat pumps unlikely to blow our HFC budget
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has released a new report from the Expert Group that analyses how increased heat pump deployment in Australia could impact our goals to phase down HFC refrigerants. The report finds that although heat pump use will rise significantly, there will not be an increase […]
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Calling refrigeration apprentices
Woolworths is seeking refrigeration apprentices to join its 2024 training program and help meet the organisation’s 2025 sustainability targets. Woolworths says it is committed to building diversity and inclusion within the refrigeration industry. “We are committed to supporting the refrigeration industry to build greater diversity and inclusion for the ‘fridgies’ of tomorrow,” says the company. […]
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Looking beyond our GWP ‘tunnel vision’
What gets measured gets managed is a truism of our age. But in the case of refrigerants, is a heavy reliance on one measurement concealing the full sustainability story? Adrian Bukmanis, founder of Veridian Refrigerant Management, believes so. He presented at AIRAH’s recent Future of HVAC Conference on the topic “No longer immaterial: The life-cycle […]
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Heated lockers coming to a building near you
Following an amenity trend sweeping across other parts of the world, more than 30 heated food lockers have launched across Melbourne building foyers. Popular food delivery companies Hungry Panda and Fantuan have started delivering to the Foodifox lockers, offered free of charge to building managers, with the costs varied by delivery partners to pay for the speed of delivery and to avoid confusing building rules and […]
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Australia formally declares El Niño weather event
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has formally declared an El Niño weather event, meaning one is under way for the first time in eight years. El Niño is a major climate driver linked to hot, dry weather, which can increase the risk of bushfires in Australia. The major climate event impacts the weather patterns of 60 per cent of the […]