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Category: News
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Cracking down on HVAC&R cowboys
NSW Fair Trading and the Australian Refrigeration Mechanics Association (ARMA) have shared information about efforts to stop air conditioning and refrigeration contractors operating outside their licenses. ARMA has been working for some time through its Mates Rates for Fridgies app to collect information about licensing breaches. According to ARMA CEO Kim Limburg, these include advertising […]
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Putting the “R” in ASHRAE
ASHRAE has announced the launch of a web page to encourage the advancement of refrigeration technology and its application. The new web page, referred to as the “R” in ASHRAE, highlights the Society’s commitment to supporting the role of refrigeration worldwide. The web page features resources, information and publications concerning refrigeration and refrigerants such as […]
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Monash sets new Passive House benchmark
Monash University’s Gillies Hall has become the first large-scale building in the southern hemisphere to earn Passive House certification. The student accommodation complex is located at the university’s Peninsula campus in Frankston. It comprises 150 studio apartments as well as communal kitchens and games rooms across a total floor area of 6,000m2. “We are thrilled […]
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Sustainable fund goes national
The Sustainable Melbourne Fund has been renamed the Sustainable Australia Fund and is now working with businesses across the country to achieve their environmental upgrades. The Sustainable Melbourne Fund was originally established by the City of Melbourne in 2002 to progress sustainable development in greater Melbourne. The City of Melbourne agreed to divest from the […]
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Professional registration on track in Victoria
Victoria’s Legislative Assembly has passed the Professional Engineers Registration Bill 2019. The legislation, modelled closely on the existing Queensland Professional Engineers Act, is intended to fulfill the government’s 2014 goal to introduce a mandatory, statutory registration scheme, and work with other jurisdictions to develop a nationally consistent registration scheme for engineers. “The government remains determined […]
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IEC reverses vote on flammable charge limit
The path to higher charge limits for flammable refrigerants looks to be open again, after the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) revised last month’s surprise no vote. At this stage it is not clear why or how the vote was reversed, although as the original count only failed by 0.7 per cent, it’s possible that a […]
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New online training for HVAC&R Fundamentals
The Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) has released all eight units in its Professional Certificate in HVAC&R Fundamentals. The online program explores technical knowledge and skills in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration. It consists of eight units, with detailed information about the workings of HVAC&R equipment and principles. Brendan Pejkovic, […]
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Coalition of the chilling to combat climate change
Launched at the First Global Conference on Synergies between the 2030 Agenda and Paris Agreement recently held in Copenhagen, the Cool Coalition is a global effort led by major government and private organisations to promote clean and efficient cooling methods. Included in the Cool Coalition are the UN Environment initiative, the Climate and Clean Air […]
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Could AC units be our oil wells of the future?
Air conditioning units could help mitigate climate change by capturing CO2 and converting it into renewable hydrocarbon fuels. That’s the premise of a new article titled “Crowd oil not crude oil” published by a team of researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. “Imagine the renewable-electricity-powered air conditioning system in your house, apartment or office […]
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NABERS sets ambitious new targets
The National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) has published a new five-year plan for 2019–2023. It contains some ambitious goals. NABERS is a national government initiative to measure and compare the environmental performance of Australian buildings and tenancies. Since its inception, the program and its well-known star system has clocked up some impressive numbers. […]
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Shooting for input on Green Star for New Buildings
The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has put out a call to industry for feedback on newly proposed changes to its Green Star program – beginning with Green Star for New Buildings. Over 2,250 projects across Australia have now been certified under Green Star, a program established with the goal of making the built […]
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Nominations open for trade scholarships
Nominations have opened for the 2019 Industry Educational Trade Scholarship. Now in its fourth year, the scholarship provides students studying commercial refrigeration and air conditioning through TAFE with the opportunity to train at one of the industry’s premier educational institutions – the Refrigeration and Climate Control Centre of Excellence (RCCC) in Melbourne. The program was […]
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Training package ready to review
The Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) that has been working on the Electrotechnology Training Package Review project has prepared draft materials and is now looking for industry feedback. As reported previously, the project is an extension of the UEE11 Electrotechnology Training Package Transition Project. The transition and review of the training package is […]
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Victoria pledges $2 million to refrigeration training
The Victorian Department of Industry and Training has granted nearly $2,000,000 toward improving skills and education opportunities in the refrigeration industry. GOTAFE, Bendigo Kangan Institute and industry representatives CA Group Services applied for funding to complete a number of projects. And on March 15, the Hon. Gayle Tierney, Minister for Training and Skills, and Higher […]
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Heatcraft rebrands as Kirby
As part of an Australia-wide rebrand, Heatcraft has announced a new trading name and logo. The Heatcraft business will now be known as Kirby. The rebrand is an evolution of the acquisition of Heatcraft Australia by Beijer Ref in April 2018. “The new logo, Kirby – A Beijer Ref Company, unifies the business with the […]
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Brennan scores top honours at Global Skills Challenge
Queensland refrigeration apprentice Patrick Brennan has taken the gold medal at the WorldSkills Global Skills Challenge held in Melbourne last weekend. The competition covered not just refrigeration, but more than 20 other skill categories, from bricklaying to baking. It brought together 500 competitors and officials from 15 different countries and was hosted in several Victorian […]
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IEC rejects rise in flammable charge limit
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) committee responsible for IEC Standard 60335-2-89 has narrowly voted down a draft international standard that would have raised the allowable charge of flammable refrigerants in certain appliances. The vote comes after a five-year effort to raise the charge limit of flammable refrigerants such as propane and isobutane in some commercial […]
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GCP releases detailed technical application information
The Global Cooling Prize (GCP), a worldwide competition to spur the development of radically more energy-efficient cooling technology, has released its Detailed Technical Application. “We’re very excited to announce that we’ve released the Detailed Technical Application,” say staffers from the Global Cooling Prize. “In this stage of the Prize, applicants must submit comprehensive information about […]
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Industry responds to 2019–20 Budget
Although the 2019–20 Federal Budget has made no direct mention of HVAC&R, the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) has called out some positives in the government’s recent announcement. This includes the focus on infrastructure; encouragement of women in engineering; funding to modernise the vocational education and training (VET) sector; and expansion of […]
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Authorities find ‘ice’ in imported fridges
Refrigeration made the headlines for unusual reasons recently when more than half a tonne of the drug ice was found in a shipment of imported fridges. Australian Border Force officers at the Sydney Container Examination Facility examined the container shipped from Singapore. It was declared to contain electronic ovens but was found to have 11 […]