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Canberra Grammar School’s new Snow Concert Hall features a subterranean design boasting an innovative ground‑source heat pump system. 

Testo has launched a new range of compact measuring instruments into the Australian market.

Mitsubishi Electric Australia has launched a new cooling system for IT environments, s-MEXT.

The federal government has taken concrete action to address gender equity with the Closing the Gender Pay Gap Bill, writes Mark Vender.

The winners of the AIRAH Awards 2022 were announced at a gala dinner on November 24 at Luna Park in Sydney.

The new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) at Tufts University is a nifty response to a challenging brief.

Our industry has increasingly focused on the electrification of building utilities coupled with low-carbon electricity to support the global decarbonization effort. Examples include the University of California’s system-wide ban on the use of on-site fossil fuel combustion in new construction and major renovations, and the City of Seattle’s recently passed measure to prohibit the use of natural gas for space heating in new construction and major replacements of heating systems in commercial buildings, as well as for water heating in new hotels and large apartment buildings. This column presents an approach to integrating the production of domestic hot water with an electric heat-recovery chiller plant as a streamlined solution.

Some building owners are happy if their edifice performs adequately. For those making decisions about Quay Quarter Tower, the aspirations were considerably higher. Behold the winner of the 2022 AIRAH Award for Excellence in Innovation.

Perth-based Mark Elliott, M.AIRAH, is a building services engineer for Devlin Engineering & Management, and the 2022 AIRAH Future Leader Award winner.

Fantech has recently moved into a new Group HQ, close to its previous premises in Melbourne’s outer south-east. Ecolibrium chats with Leigh Howard to get the lowdown on the motivation behind the move and what went into creating the new digs.

Located in the heart of the CBD and overlooking the river, Brisbane Quarter is Brisbane’s first truly integrated, world-class mixed-use precinct. Consisting of three buildings, the project presented the ideal scenario for a district-style heating and cooling scheme. Sean McGowan reports on the design and construction of the HVAC systems serving this $1 billion development.

HVAC&R specialists have key role to play if Australia is to meet emissions targets and keep building healthy, argues ARBS Chairman Tony Arnel.

There is a growing chorus that now, perhaps more than ever, institutionalised professions need to question conventional practices in response to evolving public need.

A new ASBEC report confirms electrification “unlocks the pathway” to net zero buildings.

The HVAC-related energy usage of a group of three existing buildings on a Canadian university campus (the “Cluster”) was simulated. Two scenarios were compared: (1) an ambient loop paired with conventional HVAC equipment (boiler plant and cooling tower), and (2) an ambient loop using wastewater energy transfer (“WET”). The study aimed to assess the feasibility of implementing WET as a heating and cooling method for cold-climate institutional buildings, as well as to measure the effects of WET implementation on energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy costs

One of three similar facilities to be built in regional Victoria, the Ballarat GovHub is helping to revitalise the CBD of this regional centre and centralise government services in the area by accommodating up to 1,000 workers. Mass timber is at the heart of the building’s superstructure.

Over the past decade the HVAC industry has experienced a maturity in fault- detection diagnostics. From a technical standpoint this has resulted in historical analytics, streaming analytics, forecasting, modelling, and a welter of other innovations changing the way to figure out what’s wrong with our buildings. Ideally this data can be used to radically change the way things are done, make BMS professionals more efficient, and actually generate some outcomes for facility owners and building owners.

The Australian federal government has commenced work to develop a National Energy Performance Strategy.

A Danish power plant that converts trash to energy just happens to also be a year-round ski slope. 

Dr Stephen White, F.AIRAH, has been name the winner of the 2022 James Harrison Medal, AIRAH’s highest individual honour. Ecolibrium broke bread with him about the news.