Page 35
Tag: Slider
-
Petition to ban open supermarket fridges
Concerned shoppers in the UK are supporting a petition to ban the use of open fridges and freezers in supermarkets and other retail outlets. “Retailers in the United Kingdom unnecessarily waste huge amounts of energy on open fridges and freezers,” reads the petition text. “Climate change threatens our planet. If all supermarkets had doors on […]
-
Best practice guide for coolrooms
The Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) is conducting a review of a best practice guide for energy efficient walk-in coolrooms and freezers. Walk-in coolrooms are those intended to store chilled or frozen foodstuffs and other perishable items. They are accessible by at least one door suitable for people to walk through. […]
-
Residential rethink in NCC 2022
The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has been directed by the Building Ministers’ Forum (BMF) to investigate possible changes to the energy efficiency provisions, with an emphasis on residential buildings in the 2022 edition of the National Construction Code (NCC). The ABCB has produced a scoping study to begin the process. The study outlines a […]
-
Prize finalists to be announced
The Global Cooling Prize has announced that its finalist award ceremony will take place on November 15, 2019, in New Delhi, India. The prize seeks to catalyse innovation by calling upon global innovators to develop cooling solutions that have at least five times less climate impact than standard entry-level room air conditioning technology in operation […]
-
New minimum standards for large AC
New greenhouse and energy minimum standards (GEMS) have been drafted for air conditioners above 65kW. They are open for public comment. There are currently no minimum energy efficiency requirements under the Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (GEMS) Act for air conditioners over 65kW capacity to be sold in Australia. There are, however, requirements in the National […]
-
UN project celebrates women workers
Last year the United Nations called for women working in the HVAC&R industry around the world to share their stories. These have now been compiled in a special publication – Women in the Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Industry: Personal Experiences and Achievements. “If you ask the average person on the street who they think designs, manufactures, […]
-
AC in your pocket
A Sony-affiliated startup has announced the Reon Pocket, a small Bluetooth device that can fit into a pocket and will cool and heat the wearer. Other companies and research teams are working on bringing heating and cooling to a wearable level, but the Reon Pocket looks like the first such product that could break into […]
-
Battle of the thermostat heats up
Is there a battle of the sexes when it comes to office air conditioning? And do men and women really work more efficiently at different temperatures? Certainly decades of anecdotal evidence and arguments about dress codes and set-points suggests men and women have different ideal temperature preferences at work. Now a new German study does […]
-
Energy efficiency calculators ready for testing
The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has released four energy efficiency calculators for beta testing. The calculators have been developed to help users with understanding and applying the National Construction Code (NCC) Volume One Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions for the energy efficiency of façades, lighting, fans and pumps. The calculators include: Façade, Volume One Lighting, Volume One Fan Systems, Volume One […]
-
Disruption waiting to happen for BMS industry
According to IBM researcher Arun Vishwanath, disruption is coming to the building controls industry in the form of artificial intelligence and machine learning that could eventually enable self-driving buildings. Vishwanath was the keynote speaker at AIRAH’s inaugural Big Data and Analytics Forum in Sydney last week. The event saw 120 attendees – including analytics consultants, […]
-
Five low-hanging fruit of HVAC&R
The time has come to herald the sustainability solutions offered by HVAC&R, rather than focus on its challenges. That’s the message from Andrea Voigt, Director General of the European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE). As Europe swelters through one of its hottest summers on record, cooling in the form of air conditioning is […]
-
A slow market for net zero homes
New research has highlighted that the current housing market is slow to pick up on easy opportunities for improved energy efficiency and thermal comfort. The CRC for Low Carbon Living and Curtin University’s Dr Josh Byrne worked with industry bodies and government to provide a net zero energy home in Melbourne, Townsville, Canberra and Perth for potential buyers to view. […]
-
Wearable heating and cooling?
A material called graphene is changing the game for textiles, and could revolutionise the way we cool and heat our shared spaces. Graphene is a thin form of graphite, and can radiate or detract heat. Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize in Physics for their work with isolating the carbon. The scientific breakthrough […]
-
Demand rises for solar heating and cooling
A new report from the International Energy Agency Solar Heating and Cooling Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA SHC) indicates that demand for solar heating and cooling is on the rise worldwide for the first time since 2015. The report, Solar Heat Worldwide, notes that 10 of the 20 largest national markets reported growing sales in 2018. […]
-
ABCB to play key role in industry reform
The Building Ministers’ Forum (BMF) met last Thursday to discuss a range of issues facing the building and construction sector – many of which were flagged in the Shergold Weir Building Confidence report. All jurisdictions agreed to a national approach to implementing the recommendations. And the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) will play a key […]
-
How flammable is ‘mildly flammable’?
A multi-million-dollar research project led by AHRI, with support from ASHRAE, the US Department of Energy and the California Air Resources Board, has comprehensively tested refrigerants to answer questions around their flammability. In Australia, the topic continues to provoke debate, and understandably so. Because of the HFC phase-down, previously common non-flammable A1 refrigerants are giving way […]
-
Cladding safety plan unveiled
The Victorian government has announced a plan to replace combustible cladding. But the proposed approach has not met with support from all quarters. Earlier this month, the Victorian Cladding Taskforce delivered its report. It contains the results of audits performed on buildings in Victoria. Combustible cladding: state of play The report notes that although some […]
-
Solar cooling and heating standard
Standards Australia has published AS 5389:2019 Space heating and cooling and ventilation systems – Calculation of energy and comfort performance. AS 5389 provides a method to estimate how much energy will be saved and to what degree comfort will be improved using solar and other heating and cooling technologies. Performance is based on four different […]
-
Saint-Gobain announces ‘multi comfort’ winners
International producer of building materials Saint-Gobain has chosen the winners of its 15th Multi Comfort Students Contest. More than 2,200 students from 199 universities entered the contest, mainly from the fields of architecture and engineering. The final, held in Milan, saw 60 competing teams from 34 countries present their projects to an international panel of […]
-
Shape the future of Standards Australia
Standards Australia (SA) is working towards making its content more accessible to stakeholders and users, and is seeking input on how it distributes content. As part of this process it has released a Distribution and Licensing Policy Discussion Paper that is open for review. SA entered into a new distribution agreement with Techstreet recently, after a ruling that SAI […]