Laura Timberlake

August 15, 2023

Supermarkets hold the key to a cool future

News

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is working with Enel X to launch “Unlocking Flexible Demand in the Commercial Refrigeration Sector”, a program that will assist with integrating renewable energy sources into electricity networks. ARENA has granted Enel X $3.7 million in funding to demonstrate how the flexible demand systems can work in the commercial […]

August 16, 2022

Building equality in gender policies

News

Governments around Australia are pushing the building and construction industry to take action on gender equality policies. Earlier this year the Victorian government revealed the Building Equality Policy (BEP), aimed at creating training and employment opportunities for women through government procurement on building, infrastructure, civil engineering and any other capital works projects. Under the gender […]

August 11, 2022

Expanding the clean energy workforce

News

Solar Victoria is offering free and low-cost packages for women to take up apprenticeships and training in the renewable energy industry – including air conditioning and refrigeration. The Home Heating and Cooling Upgrades has invested $11 million in comprehensive training and workforce development packages. Women currently make up less than 1 per cent of the […]

August 3, 2022

Sensory heating and cooling mattress promotes sleep

News

Bioengineers at the University of Texas in Austin, USA, have developed a sensory heating and cooling mattress and pillow system that can help people fall asleep. It is designed to manipulate bodily temperatures through sensors connected to the skin. Research fellow at Harvard Medical School’s Division of Sleep Medicine and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Shahab […]

July 26, 2022

Marine life inspires dynamic buildings

News

Researchers from the University of Toronto have created a new, low-cost “optofluidic” system that could help buildings save energy by dynamically changing the appearance of their exteriors. The research is inspired by marine life such as krill, shrimp and crabs. Master’s student in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Raphael Kay, compares the new technology […]

July 20, 2022

Cooler buildings with rooftop wrapping

News

Researchers at Northeastern University have developed a new method of cooling buildings by wrapping rooftops in “cooling paper”. They believe the material could lower carbon emissions, electricity bills and reduce the need for air conditioning. College of Engineering professor Yi Zheng and PhD researcher Andrew Caratenuto started a company called Planck Energies to test the cooling paper in […]

July 13, 2022

Webinar to explore unequal access to cooling

Events and conferences

Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is hosting a webinar series on global and regional populations at risk from the lack of access to sustainable cooling in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. A recent report titled Chilling Prospects: Tracking Sustainable Cooling for All 2022 has revealed the cooling access challenges that countries face today […]

July 13, 2022

Thermal storage system based on sand

News

The world’s first commercial sand-based thermal energy storage system has been developed to back up a heating network in Finland. Technology company Polar Night Energy and utility organisation Vatajankoski joined forces to create the system, which is adjacent to a power plant. It has 100kW heating power and 8MWh capacity, and can heat the sand […]

July 7, 2022

Indoor air quality risks

Events and conferences

AIRAH is holding a Streamline webinar about indoor air quality risks on Thursday, July 14. It will explore the indoor air quality risks that can arise by focusing on the indicators that can be tracked in a world with increasing concern for the health of building occupants, and building resilience to the impacts of climate […]

July 6, 2022

Lessons in circular economy

Events and conferences

Construction group Built is hosting an event on Thursday, July 28 called “Circular Economy: Lessons for Australia and the built environment”. Being held both face to face in Sydney and online, the event will be headlined by Dr Jaqueline Cramer, Chair of the Holland Circular Hotspot. She will discuss the Netherlands’ experience in developing circularity […]