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Built environment
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Down to the wire
With a global shortage of copper looming, could aluminium cable be a safe and cost-effective substitute for low voltage underground power supply? Lasath Lecamwasam and Martin Lynch investigate.
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Breaking the mould
When Dr Mali Rezaei moved into a one-bedroom rental in Melbourne’s southeast in 2021, she had no idea how severely her life would be affected by mould.
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ASBEC releases embodied carbon roadmap
The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) has released a policy roadmap to reduce upfront embodied carbon in the built environment.
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The importance of safe air at events
Amy Lewis from the Safer Air Project introduces a toolkit for making events safe, accessible, and inclusive for those at risk from poor IAQ.
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Why does hot air rise?
We’ve all heard the saying “hot air rises”. Daniel Bonatti, M.AIRAH, explains why this phenomenon occurs, how our understanding has evolved over time, and what it means for practical applications in building design.
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Slow response to new filter standards
An important changeover of filter standards is underway in Australia, but industry has so far been slow to move.
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Spectacular conversion
Cutting-edge HVAC and BMS design played a huge role in the Canberra Raiders’ redevelopment of their spiritual home at Northbourne Oval. Here’s how the state-of-the-art project unfolded.
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How’s your air? Q&A with Brandon Chappo
After mould-related illness turned Brandon Chappo’s life upside down, he co-founded Change the Air Foundation to do provide a voice for the millions of others affected.
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The importance of external CFD for data centres
This paper discusses the growing importance of external CFD in evaluating and optimising rooftop mechanical layouts for high-density data centres.
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Mitigating airborne pathogens indoors: A systematic review of existing and next-generation air cleaning technologies
This technical paper provides a systematic review and comparison of existing and next-generation air cleaning technologies.
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Legionella in a warming world
Clive Broadbent, L.AIRAH, discusses how climate change and increases in surface water temperatures could potentially encourage the growth of bacteria that prefer warm water (mesophiles), including Legionella.
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Double trouble
Mark Lommers, M.AIRAH, looks at the repeal of Western Australia’s controversial Sewerage (Lighting, Ventilation and Construction) Regulations 1971, which for more than 50 years required the doubling up of toilet exhaust fans.
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Howzat for heat monitoring?!
Nick Johns-Wickberg discovers how a heat monitoring tool developed by the University of Sydney is playing an important role in local sport.
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Hidden hero: the importance of BMS
Building management systems are vital for HVAC performance and efficiency, but if they’re poorly designed or maintained, they can cause serious problems. Chris Stamatis, M.AIRAH, and Trevor Smith, Affil.AIRAH, showed Nick Johns-Wickberg and Mark Vender how these complex systems work in practice.
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Transparency in the built environment
Standards Australia and the International Code Council have partnered to develop a new protocol that will enhance climate data transparency and operability internationally across the built environment.
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Making air safe
A report launched at Parliament House in November has highlighted the human impact of poor indoor air quality, framing it as an access and inclusion issue.
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A nationwide NCC freeze?
The Coalition has followed in the footsteps of the South Australian government, which earlier this year announced that it would not update the National Construction Code (NCC) for a decade.
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Australian ventilation: the next chapter
What does “build tight and ventilate right” mean when applied to multi-residential buildings? Sean Maxwell, AM.AIRAH, investigates.
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Learning to thrive
A research centre at Queensland University of Technology has set out an ambitious range of projects to build our knowledge of indoor air quality
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The time is now
AIRAH’s IAQ 2024 conference underscored the once-in-a-century opportunity to improve indoor air quality – and what we need to do to seize it.