Mark Vender

April 13, 2023

ARC activates fully online licence applications

News

The Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) has now activated a completely online licence application process. ARC chief executive officer Glenn Evans says the system has been built around improving convenience for applicants, enabling them to upload qualifications and photographs and then finalise payment by credit card online. “The system puts control of an application or renewal […]

April 13, 2023

Greater visibility coming for gender pay gap

NewsRegulations

A major step towards addressing the gender pay gap has been taken with the passing of the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 in federal parliament. From 2024, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) will publish gender pay gaps by employer, in addition to publishing the gender pay gap at […]

April 12, 2023

Engineering essential for improving indoor air

News

Improving indoor air quality was the focus of a recent full-day event at Parliament House in Canberra that brought together leaders from public health, engineering, architecture, law, economics and politics to discuss the state of play and the way forward. The Clean Air Forum was opened by Australia’s Chief Health Officer Professor Paul Kelly, who […]

April 7, 2023

A-Gas expands presence in New Zealand 

Business

A-Gas, a global specialist in the supply and life-cycle management of refrigerants and associated products, has expanded its operations in New Zealand. “We are excited to be bringing our life-cycle refrigerant management (LRM) capabilities to New Zealand,” says A-Gas (Australia) Managing Director Brett Ferguson. “Our unique capability in the recovery, reclamation and repurposing of refrigerants […]

March 31, 2023

A-Gas expands refrigerant management capabilities

Business

A-Gas has announced that its PyroPlas refrigerant destruction technology will soon be available in Australia and New Zealand. The equipment is designed to deal with halons, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and mixtures of all previous generations of used refrigerant, as well as an increase in the prevalence of flammables. A-Gas has operated PyroPlas in the US for […]

March 31, 2023

Europe commits to ambitious HFC phase-down

News

The EU Parliament has voted to accept revisions to the F-gas regulation that will result in a steeper phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) on the EU market from 2039 onwards, with a full HFC production and consumption phase-out by 2050. This aligns with the EU’s 2050 climate neutrality goal. “To stimulate the uptake of climate-friendly solutions […]

March 30, 2023

Scientists back hydrocarbon heat pumps

News

As the debate over the revisions to the F-gas regulation rumbles on, a group of more than 40 scientists from 24 different universities and research institutes in Europe have signed a position paper supporting the use of hydrocarbons as refrigerants in heat pumps. The researchers argue that hydrocarbons such as propane and isobutane are just […]

March 30, 2023

Phase-change inks to revolutionise cooling and heating

News

A team of researchers from the University of Melbourne has developed new phase-change inks that could slash energy use in buildings through passive heating and cooling. According to the research team, the inks can adjust the amount of radiation that passes through them based on the surrounding environment, and could be used to develop coatings […]

March 29, 2023

EEC to launch flagship report on clean energy

Events and conferences

The Energy Efficiency Council (EEC) is launching a major new report on the changing role of energy management, in Sydney on April 5. Clean Energy, Clean Demand looks at how energy efficiency, electrification, renewables, storage, buildings and vehicles fit together as Australia transitions to zero emissions. It makes the case for energy efficiency and energy management […]

March 29, 2023

Bringing the Australian air filter standard up to speed

Regulations

Standards Australia has started with implementation of ISO 16890, bringing the Australian Standard for air filters used in general ventilation and air conditioning in line with world’s best practice. Part 1 of the standard is now out for public comment, and can be accessed via the Standards Australia website. According to Daniel McCaffrey, M.AIRAH from […]