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Category: News
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Woolies’ WRD success
The first World Refrigeration Day (WRD) took place on June 26, and businesses and organisations around the world hosted activities to celebrate the occasion. One standout event in Australia was Woolworths’ public plant room open day. Woolworths’ refrigeration team, with support from AIRAH, RACCA, RMIT University and TAFE NSW, gave participants a tour of two […]
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VEU program targets gas bills and emissions
The Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program helps businesses and households cut power bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It does this by providing access to discounted energy-efficient products and services. Six new gas efficiency activities were recently added to the program, which provides access to energy-saving products through accredited providers. The activities can be undertaken by […]
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Solar cooling and heating standard
Standards Australia has published AS 5389:2019 Space heating and cooling and ventilation systems – Calculation of energy and comfort performance. AS 5389 provides a method to estimate how much energy will be saved and to what degree comfort will be improved using solar and other heating and cooling technologies. Performance is based on four different […]
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Saint-Gobain announces ‘multi comfort’ winners
International producer of building materials Saint-Gobain has chosen the winners of its 15th Multi Comfort Students Contest. More than 2,200 students from 199 universities entered the contest, mainly from the fields of architecture and engineering. The final, held in Milan, saw 60 competing teams from 34 countries present their projects to an international panel of […]
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Expert advice on air filtration
The extensive suite of Design Application (DA) manuals published by the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) is receiving some important updates. To keep up with changes in the sector, AIRAH and its network of expert members periodically update the DA manuals and publish new editions. The latest of these is DA15 […]
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Darryl K. Boyce named ASHRAE President
Darryl K. Boyce, P. Eng., has been named ASHRAE’s President for the 2019–20 term. Previously a treasurer, vice-president and director-at-large on the ASHRAE board of directors, Boyce is the recipient of sundry ASHRAE honours. Boyce announced his theme for the year of his presidency is “Building for People and Performance. Achieving Operational Excellence”. “We must […]
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Health check for VET system
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has published the results from an expert review of Australia’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) program – and there is definitely work to be done. Late last year, the Prime Minister announced an independent review of Australia’s VET sector to examine ways to deliver skilled workers for […]
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NSW opens talks on professional registration
Earlier this year, a bill passed in Victoria that should see professional registration of engineers become mandatory in that state. Queensland already has this requirement. Now it appears that New South Wales will go down the same path. The NSW government has released a discussion paper that responds to recommendations of Shergold and Weir’s Building […]
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What is HVAC&R?
The Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) has produced a flyer to help promote the HVAC&R industry. AIRAH Executive Manager – Government Relations and Technical Services, Phil Wilkinson, F.AIRAH, says the nature of the HVAC&R industry means that people don’t have to think about it. “We do our best to be hidden […]
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Energy efficiency the key
A new report from the Energy Efficiency Council has highlighted the vital role that improvements that energy efficiency can play around the world, and especially in Australia. The World’s First Fuel is an attempt to distil world’s best practice around energy efficiency into recommendations that can inform Australia’s energy debate. The title comes from the […]
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NABERS set for starring role in UK
According to industry legend, when the NABERS initiative was first released as a system for measuring and comparing the environmental performance of Australian buildings and tenancies, it had a less memorable name. The final acronym was coined as a cheeky (and catchier) reference to the popular soap opera. Since then, the initiative has brought about huge […]
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Aussie ingenuity on show
The History Channel is running a new series called Aussie Inventions That Changed The World, and it includes an episode dedicated to refrigeration. “Historically, Australia has punched well above its weight on the world stage of timely innovations, scientific breakthroughs, and cleverly designed new technologies,” say the creators. “Throughout its history this continent has produced […]
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HVAC&R salary survey
AIRAH (the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating) has created a short survey to benchmark salaries in the HVAC&R sector. The survey only takes a few minutes to complete, and any input will provide AIRAH with the information it needs to effectively advocate for the industry. AIRAH CEO Tony Gleeson, M.AIRAH, says this […]
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Environmental Performance grants – Round 2
Round 2 of City of Sydney’s grants for building owners, managers and tenants in their council area opens June 19. In the first round of funding, held earlier this year, 15 buildings were recommended for funding. Over the life of the program, funding more than 150 buildings have received funding for energy audits, water assessments, and […]
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ARC visits regional permit holders
In the past six months, engagement officers from the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) have visited regional and remote locations to perform permit holder and education visits. Visits were made to Darwin and surrounding areas (81 visits); to Toowoomba and surrounding areas in Queensland (71 visits); to Coffs Harbour and surrounding areas in New South Wales […]
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Kirby launches Apprentice Fund
Kirby has announced the formation of the Kirby Apprentice Fund, established to support apprentices and strengthen the technical skills of the HVAC&R industry. The company plans to begin raising funds using a variety methods. The funds will then be used to provide trade tools and skills development training to industry apprentices. The fund will be launched […]
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Plumbers bid to take over RAC?
The Victorian government is currently considering a proposal for mechanical services plumbers to install and service multi-head air conditioning systems. Last year, the Department of Environment, Land Water and Planning (DELWP) reviewed and revised regulations on plumbing work. Following the review, a series of projects were established to further examine different aspects of the regulations. […]
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China denies illegal use of CFC-11
China’s environmental ministry has cast aspersions over claims that the country is responsible for a recent spike in emissions of CFC-11, a banned ozone-destroying gas. A recent report in science journal Nature found that China is responsible for approximately 40–60 per cent of the recent rise in CFC-11 (trichlorofluoromethane) emissions. Researchers traced the increase to the northeastern […]
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Standards Australia partners with Techstreet
Techstreet has entered into an agreement with Standards Australia to become a distributor of Standards Australia’s content. Earlier this year, Standards Australia announced it was looking to expand its options for distributing content, after a court ruled that SAI Global would no longer have exclusive rights. Techstreet positions itself as a “technical information superstore” and offers […]
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Russian rehearsal for refrigeration Skillaroo
Australian WorldSkills Refrigeration and Air Conditioning champion Patrick Brennan has travelled to Kazan with a select group of fellow Skillaroos to compete in the Russian national WorldSkills tournament. The trip was organised as preparation for the upcoming International WorldSkills tournament, to be held in Kazan in August. WorldSkills Russia, now in its seventh year, was […]