Finalists named for AIRAH Awards 2022

AIRAH has named the finalists for the AIRAH Awards 2022. The AIRAH Awards celebrate the leading projects, people and products driving Australia towards a sustainable future.

“Over the past few years we’ve seen how the COVID pandemic has shifted attention to the importance of the HVAC&R industry to Australia’s health, comfort and productivity,” says AIRAH CEO Tony Gleeson, M.AIRAH. “It is pivotal.

“The AIRAH Awards program provides another avenue to highlight and celebrate the tremendous work being done by the talented teams and individuals within our critical industry.”

Finalists have been named across 11 categories, which recognise excellence in fields ranging from retrofits to new builds, from leadership to innovation.

AIRAH’s highest honour, the James Harrison Medal, will also be presented at the glittering black-tie gala dinner on Thursday, November 24, 2022 in Sydney, sponsored by Daikin.

The comprehensive list of finalists is below.

Best HVAC Retrofit or Upgrade

• Air Engineers – Woolworths Shoreline Tasmania
• ESBS – Australian Institute of Sport’s testing and training pool and recovery centre
• McClintock Engineering Group – Otto Hirschfeld Dissection Laboratory AHU upgrade
• NDY – Griffith University’s N79 Super Lab

Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion

• Cundall
• ESBS – Lasath Lecamwasam, F.AIRAH

Excellence in HVAC&R Research

• Stantec – Analysis of effectiveness of pandemic-mode HVAC strategies
• Conserve It – Real-time model predictive control with digital twins and edge computing technologies

Excellence in Innovation

• Airius Asia Pacific – Ken Rosewall Tennis Arena
• AMP Capital – Quay Quarter Tower
• CSIRO – i-Hub Data Clearing House (DCH)

Excellence in Sustainability (sponsored by Superior Training Centre)

• Benmax – The University of Newcastle’s Q Building
• Conserve It – Optimal scheduling of air conditioning systems with renewable energy resource and thermal storage
• Jesse Clarke, M.AIRAH – Building code airtightness and moisture management

Future Leader (sponsored by A.G. Coombs)

• Jay Goh, M.AIRAH
• Mark Elliott, M.AIRAH
• Patrick Page, Affil.AIRAH

Innovative use of Renewable Energy in HVAC&R

• A.G. Coombs – 101 Collins Street, Melbourne
• Conserve It – Optimal scheduling of air conditioning systems with renewable energy resource and thermal storage

Product of the Year (sponsored by HVAC&R Search)

• Johnson Controls – OpenBlue Command Centre
• Smartair Diffusion – Smartemp Helical Vari-Swirl Diffuser

Student of the Year – Higher Education or Research

Jason Jarvinen, Stud.AIRAH – University of South Australia

Student of the Year – Trade (sponsored by LG)

• Nicholas Scriva, Stud.AIRAH – PEER
• Renzo Antonio Munster, Stud.AIRAH – Superior Training Centre

WR Ahern Award (sponsored by Ecolibrium)
This award goes to the best technical paper by an AIRAH member published in Ecolibrium over the previous year.

The finalists for the WR Ahern Award in 2022 are:

• “Propagation of droplets in an HVAC system” – April 2021 Ecolibrium, by Simon Witts, M.AIRAH, and Sam Coleman

• “Potential impact of evaporative cooling technologies on Australian office buildings” – May 2021 Ecollibrium by Dr Paul Bannister, F.AIRAH; Hongsen Zheng; and Stephen White, F.AIRAH

• “Carpark mechanical ventilation – time to take performance seriously?” – June/July 2021 Ecolibrium, by Dr Craig Pregnalato, M.AIRAH

• “Best-practice energy performance benchmarked for refrigerated warehouses” – August/September Ecolibrium, by Stefan Jensen, F.AIRAH

• “Next-generation fault-detection for commercial building HVAC systems” – November 2021 Ecolibrium, by Hao Huang and Craig Roussac, M.AIRAH

• “Planning for carbon neutral in existing buildings” – Summer 2021 Ecolibrium, by Grace Foo, M.AIRAH

James Harrison Medal
The James Harrison Medal is the highest honour AIRAH can bestow upon an individual member. Named after Australian refrigeration pioneer James Harrison, it recognises the highest levels of individual achievement in the Australian refrigeration and air conditioning industry.

The James Harrison Medal recipient is selected by the AIRAH Board. It is not awarded every year.

For more information and to register for the event, click here.