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Two Indigenous Australian women are filling a growing need for more females in HVAC&R thanks to an industry-sponsored training program at TAFE NSW. The Career Start in Air-conditioning & Refrigeration program allows students to develop their skills and knowledge in the trade by completing an entry-level qualification. Upon successful completion of the program, industry sponsor, […]
The Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) and the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment have created free “tech-packs” on R32 refrigerant for licensed technicians and authorised businesses. The packs contain information on refrigerant characteristics and properties, equipment requirements, safety, relationship to R410A, and more. They also include refrigerant safety stickers to help technicians identify the […]
Rhyner Logistik is taking advantage of solar technology to power the refrigeration unit of its all-electric truck. Joining the Swiss haulier’s 100-strong delivery fleet, the Renault D Wide Z.E. truck was recently purchased for the purpose of transporting supplies to the Denner supermarkets in Zurich and its suburbs. Denner is Switzerland’s third largest supermarket chain. […]
The University of Colorado Boulder has released a study which shows human bodily emissions can combine with bleach cleaners to produce new airborne chemicals. According to the study, a person who is exercising can emit as many chemicals as five sedentary people. And when this happens in a place such as a gym, the bodily […]
The driver of a mining truck in Queensland has suffered serious burns in an explosion believed to be caused by an air conditioning system incorrectly charged with hydrocarbon refrigerant. According to the Queensland Mines Inspectorate, the explosion occurred in the truck cabin while the vehicle was being driven in an underground mine. It caused serious […]
The US government has passed a bill authorising a 15-year phase-down of HFCs in alignment with the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM) requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement a phase-down of the production and consumption of HFCs through an allowance program. The phase-down […]
Singapore has set a target of capping its emissions by around 2030 and then halving them by 2050. Part of the Southeast Asian nation’s effort to reach that goal comes in the form of Tengah, Singapore’s first smart and sustainable town. It is the country’s most ambitious project to date in building the city of […]
Researchers writing in Nature Materials have called for increased efforts to find new thermoelectric materials. In 1834, French physicist Jean Peltier discovered that at the junction of two different metals, a heating or cooling effect could be produced through electrical currents. Bismuth tellurium compounds have now been used for thermoelectric cooling for more than 60 […]
Tallaght in Dublin is set to become the site of Ireland’s first large-scale district heating scheme. Common in many large European cities, district heating is a system for redistributing waste heat from local industry, power stations or incinerators to meet heating requirements for other premises. In this instance, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has designed a data […]
A new report commissioned by Refrigerants Australia has mapped out the laws that govern the use of flammable refrigerants in this country. It also highlights key themes and gaps within the regulatory landscape. The report, written by Bronwyn Weir and Krista Weymouth, reveals a complicated patchwork of regulations. There is no one set of laws […]
The Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) has released updated advice to reduce exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19. The advice includes suggestions to improve ventilation that may help reduce the concentration of virus particles in the air. According to the CDC website, SARS-CoV-2 viral particles spread between people more readily indoors than […]
The Building Designers Association of Australia (BDAA) has announced a collaborative merger with the Australian Building Sustainability Association (ABSA) that it says will bring a “fresh new energy” to the sustainable building industry. “For everyone involved, this merger is sure to be a fruitful and progressive one for Australia’s building industry and the nation as […]
The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has announced the 2022 version of the National Construction Code (NCC) will be released as a digital product. Historically a print-only publication, the digital release is being planned to improve the usability of the code. The ABCB is making the changes after consulting with industry groups, and the first […]
The cooling sector has to take a more holistic view of sustainable cooling that extends beyond the Kigali targets, according to experts speaking at a special event held alongside the latest Meeting of the Parties of the Montreal Protocol. The Economic Affairs Officer with the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, […]
Australian Industry Standards (AIS) has named Paul Walsh as its new CEO. AIS is a skills service organisation that is responsible for working with industry experts to develop and update training packages and qualifications. This includes the UEE Certificate III in Air Conditioning and Refrigeration. Walsh has spent eight years with AIS, including the past […]
Australian property companies have recorded a continuous 10-year run at the top of the global GRESB real estate assessment ranking. The ranking assesses and benchmarks the environmental, social and governance (ESG) and other related performance of real assets, providing standardised and validated data to the capital markets. Participation in the 2020 assessment grew by 22 […]
Refrigerant Reclaim Australia (RRA) is increasing the rebate for recovered refrigerant rebate to $10 per/kg as part of the Gas Seeker Initiative. The new rate, which will apply from January 1 to June 30, 2021, is more than triple the current rebate of $3 per kilogram. RRA says that the initiative is intended to give […]
The Industrial Ventilation Design Guidebook – Volume 1: Fundamentals (2nd Edition) is now available for order as an eBook or in hard copy. Fully revised and restructured, the guidebook presents the latest research and technology in ventilation for contaminant control and energy efficiency in buildings. The two-volume publication develops a systematic approach to the engineering design […]
Motor and fan manufacturer Ziehl-Abegg is providing support for the Hohenlohe District Department of Health in the fight against COVID-19, by lending personnel and committing to supply CO2 detectors. Three employees from the industrial company based in Künzelsau, Germany, have been deployed to serve in the coronavirus ward in the former Künzelsau hospital where cases […]
Mike Creamer has been confirmed as President of the Institute of Refrigeration (IOR) at its AGM. Creamer is the Managing Director and Consultant at Business Edge, a company he founded in 1990 to provide technical consultancy, air conditioning/refrigeration training and certification. He has undertaken various roles within the HVAC&R sector including toolmaker, design draughtsman and […]