Page 47
Tag: Featured
-
Building Confidence reforms open for comment
The Australia Building Codes Board (ABCB) is has released three discussion papers on responses to the Building Confidence Report (BCR), and is looking for input until February 28. The BCR was published in 2018 and identified significant problems with the compliance and enforcement systems for Australia’s building and construction industry. In response, the Building Ministers’ […]
-
Design competition looks at adapting empty buildings
An Australian design competition based around tackling major issues facing the construction sector has issued a new challenge this year: adapt and reconfigure empty buildings. Established in 2020, the Fleetwood Challenge Cup is an inter-university, cross-disciplinary team competition which aim is to uncover the next generation of built environment professionals. The competition is developed by […]
-
Young Aussies tackle sustainable living
The Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE), in partnership with Orica, has developed a remote learning module that focuses on sustainable housing. The module was designed for the STELR (Science and Technology Education Leveraging Relevance) education program and teaches secondary school students to design a low-energy home. ATSE Chief Executive, Kylie Walker, says the sustainable housing education kit is […]
-
Australian researchers develop ‘green’ ammonia
Researchers at the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales have found a way to make ammonia production “green” – using only air, water and renewable electricity. The breakthrough has implications for refrigeration, as well as for fertiliser production and energy storage. For more than 140 years, ammonia has been a popular […]
-
GBCA announces details of Transform 2021
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) will be holding Transform 2021 as a virtual event on March 17–18. Transform is the GBCA’s flagship event for sustainability in the built environment. Transform Online 2021 will explore how we can drive change and action for our places and people, as we aim for resilient, healthy, net […]
-
Aurecon on track for zero emissions
Aurecon is set to achieve its goal of net zero emissions by 2025. The international engineering, design and advisory company has released plans to decarbonise its business and transition its services towards a 100 per cent net zero emissions future. By 2025, Aurecon will implement measures to reduce: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources […]
-
ASHRAE releases core advice on reducing airborne spread
The ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force has released new guidance to address control of airborne infectious aerosol exposure. It has also issued recommendations for communities of faith buildings. During the course of 2020, experts placed increasing emphasis on the role of aerosols in transmitting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Although at first the virus was […]
-
Plan to expand energy-efficiency upgrades
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) has opened a public consultation to expand the range of energy efficiency upgrades available to households and businesses, as part of the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program. The VEU program is established under the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target (VEET) Act 2007 to help Victoria reduce its […]
-
AIRAH STG seeks data on renewable installations
AIRAH’s Renewable Heating and Cooling Special Technical Group (STG) has launched a survey to collect industry information on renewable installations across Australia. The industry response will help the STG to develop and maintain a database of renewable heating and cooling system installations around the country. This will contribute to the STG’s current efforts to develop […]
-
Next steps for phase-out of open-flued gas space heaters
Victoria’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) has released a regulatory impact statement (RIS) on the phase-out of open-flued gas space heaters. The RIS is open for public consultation until February 22, 2021. Under certain circumstances, open-flued gas space heaters pose a risk of releasing unhealthy and sometimes lethal concentrations of carbon monoxide […]
-
ARC releases free ‘tech packs’ for R32
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 […]
-
ARBS extends online Seminar Series
ARBS Seminar Series online has revealed its line-up of sessions for 2021. The schedule brings together some of Australia’s leading experts to present the latest trends, innovations, scientific research and technologies relevant to the HVAC&R and building service industry. Cold Hard Facts | Michael McCann, Expert Group | February 16, 1pm Now employing 14 years […]
-
Electric truck uses solar energy to cool cargo
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. […]
-
Study shows workouts create higher bodily emissions
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 IOR extends call for abstracts
The Institute of Refrigeration (IOR) has extended the abstract deadline for its annual conference until January 29. The conference is being held online from April 21–22, 2021, and is called “The Journey to Net-Zero Heating and Cooling – Beyond Refrigeration 2021”. The IOR is inviting presentation papers that explore innovations or initiatives that will help […]
-
US passes HFC phase-down bill
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 […]
-
IOR calls for presenters on net-zero initiatives
The Institute of Refrigeration (IOR) is calling on individuals involved in innovation or initiatives that will help achieve carbon reductions in the refrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump field to share their findings at the Institute’s next annual conference. Titled “The journey towards net-zero heating and cooling – beyond refrigeration 2021,” the IOR Conference will […]
-
Smart cooling for Singapore’s sustainable town
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 […]
-
Renewed interest in thermoelectric cooling
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 […]
-
Ireland establishes first direct heating scheme
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 […]