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Tag: Slider
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New views of the engineering skills shortage
Engineers Australia has launched its latest statistical overview of the engineering profession in Australia, which it says sheds light on the concerning state of the engineering workforce. The report, now into its 15th iteration, is based on Australian census data and offers high-level insights about the engineering workforce. This edition covers the 2016-2021 census surveys […]
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Indoor Air Quality Conference calls for speakers
AIRAH is hosting the 2024 Indoor Air Quality Conference in Melbourne from July 15–16. The technical committee is seeking a range of submissions from a broad cross-section of the built environment. As Australians spend 90 per cent of their time indoors – in the home, office, or other types of buildings – supplying clean air through […]
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Cooling to take centre stage at COP28
A worldwide initiative to reduce cooling-related emissions is set to be launched at COP28, slated for November 30 to December 12 in Dubai. Known as the Global Cooling Pledge, the initiative represents the world’s first collective focus on reducing energy emissions from the cooling sector. It comes in response to growing access to and demand […]
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Cooling streams to save fish
Researchers from Dalhousie University in Canada have been working on ways to artificially cool streams to save coldwater species of fish. As water temperatures rise, various species of fish have been impacted – scientists estimate 400,000 fish make the annual salmon run in Canada, whereas 50 years ago the numbers were about a million. The […]
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World Ventil8 Day puts spotlight on health
The second annual World Ventilation Day (World Ventil8 Day) on November 8 will draw a direct link between ventilation in buildings and people’s health. The initiative, which is supported by professional bodies, universities, and environmental groups worldwide, aims to raise awareness of the vital role played by ventilation in maintaining people’s health, wellbeing, and productivity. […]
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Germicidal UV could contribute to indoor air pollution
Germicidal ultraviolet (UV) is used to reduce the load of airborne pathogens in viruses, but new research has found it could be producing harmful compounds. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Aerodyne Research and Harvard University have discovered 222-nanometer UV lights may produce harmful compounds in indoor spaces; and are best used in conjunction […]
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AIRAH seeks views on professional registration
AIRAH has opened a survey to assess how HVAC&R building services engineers around the country are being impacted by the introduction of professional registration schemes. In particular, the peak industry body hopes to gauge the degree to which the qualifications requirements of the schemes are locking out highly experienced and knowledgeable practitioners. AIRAH is supporting […]
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New buildings roadmap thinks global, acts local
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and the Property Council have released a new version of the Every Building Counts roadmap aimed at local councils. Launched at a City of Melbourne event on October 23, Every Building Counts – For Local Government makes 19 policy recommendations over six key themes with the aim of […]
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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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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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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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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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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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ACT confirms start date for professional registration
The ACT government has confirmed that its scheme for professional registration of engineers will begin on March 6, 2024. The scheme is underpinned by the Professional Engineers Act 2023, passed in March this year. There will be a phased approach for different areas of engineering: civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, and fire safety. The government says […]
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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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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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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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Bill Gates-backed heat battery coming to Australia
California-based start up Rondo Energy is moving to Australia to launch a new heat battery. Australia is the third region the company is targeting after the USA and Europe. Rondo Energy already has 2.4GWhs of battery storage manufacturing online in Thailand, with expansion plans to hit 90GWhs to fulfill regional and global demand. It has […]
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Finalists named for AIRAH Awards 2023
AIRAH has named the finalists for its 2023 industry awards. The AIRAH Awards celebrate the leading projects, people, products and initiatives at the vanguard of HVAC&R. “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,” says AIRAH’s Education […]
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Measuring health benefits of energy efficiency
Researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston University, and Oregon State University have devised a new methodology that calculates the health and climate benefits from saving energy in buildings. The research is part of a four-year project called Co-benefits of the Built Environment (CoBE), which originally focused on calculating the health and […]