All articles

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.

As parts of the world experienced record downpours, the Arctic ice continued its seemingly inexorable retreat.

District heating and cooling could offer an important pathway to decarbonisation – and one of the biggest barriers to its uptake might simply be our mindset, writes Mark Vender.

Our review of industry remuneration has revealed some intriguing narratives.

The GBCA has issued some practical advice about electrification of the existing building stock, writes Rachel Urquhart.

We wish to make a correction and clarification regarding the “Arch of triumph” article that featured in August‑September Ecolibrium.

After more than a year of supply-chain challenges, Reliable Controls has released an updated version of its popular MACH-ProView LCD controller.

GJ Walker announces new industrial fan division as Walker Industrial Systems (WIS)

The major changes are the lifting of the minimum energy efficiency requirements for new homes from 6 to 7 NatHERS stars, and a new annual energy-use budget applicable to major appliances such as space conditioning, hot water, lighting, pool and spa pumps, offset by any onsite renewable energy generation.

Congrats to Gwen Gray, AIRAH’s first female member when she joined and now a posthumous member of the ARBS Hall of Fame.

Ecolibrium shoots the breeze with the Newcastle-based CTO of Airconnect about life after CSIRO.

Mitsubishi Electric Australia has launched its newest mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) system, designed to recover heat from the air inside a home and transfer it to fresh, dry air introduced from outside.

Using a hybrid of dynamic thermal simulation and detailed hourly spreadsheet calculations, the analysis identified design and operation strategies to size PV and batteries for various degrees of grid independence.

As we face the unknown financial road ahead, it’s useful to people reflect on the most recent major economic downturn, the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of more than a decade ago. Officially spanning form late 2007 to mid-2009, it took several more years for employment and the economy to stabilise to previous levels. It is important for us to look at the business successes and failures from this challenging time, and to learn from them.

Alan Obrart, L.AIRAH, wonders why the bottom line is so thin for those HVAC businesses that detect and fix difficult-to-resolve problems in buildings. He has a theory.