Refrigeration and refrigerants

Dr Michael Riese, M.AIRAH, urges us to rethink how we explain cooling to those without a technical background.

Daikin ducted range

Living with the legacy of Thomas Midgley Jr By Alexander Cohr Pachai, AM.AIRAH

Dave Peall, M.AIRAH, discusses his work on the “radical” idea of using water as a direct expansion refrigerant.

Australia’s National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Act mandates that large corporations report greenhouse gas emissions, energy production, and consumption, including emissions from refrigerants.

AIRAH’s 2025 Refrigeration Conference was billed as the hottest conference for the coolest industry, and it didn’t disappoint. 

This paper by Alemu Tiruneh Alemu, M.AIRAH, and Julian Hudson, M.AIRAH, explores sustainable HVAC solutions by focusing on electrifying heating with heat pumps and operational cooling and heating efficiencies.

Sonia Holzheimer, M.AIRAH, shares her reflections from the 21st Women in HVACR Conference in Dallas.

Lifecycle refrigerant management was the theme of the recent 36th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol (MOP36) in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) has implemented a new automated licence renewal process designed to reduce the amount of time required to complete a licence renewal application.

AIRAH’s Advocacy and Policy Manager Mark Vender muses on the exceptional treatment of pre-charged equipment in Australia’s HFC phase-down.

What are the big, overarching global influences that we are likely to see in the built environment, and particular in HVAC&R, in the lead-up to 2050?

On a remote farm in Far North Queensland, a family business overcame adversity to realise a “green dream” in the design of a 8,500m² mushroom production facility. Sean McGowan reports.

Australia’s largest international HVAC&R and building services exhibition is slated for Sydney from May 28–30.

Boasting 300 exhibitors and 9,000 visitors over three days in May, ARBS 2024 will be the gathering place for the Australian HVAC&R community.

As a result of the increased contribution of renewable energy for electricity generation and rising gas prices, there has been a shift from natural gas to electric-based heating in recent times. Commonly used electric heating technologies in the built environment include electric resistance, and air- or water-source heat pumps (hereafter known as “conventional heat pumps”). However, a key concern in the industry has been the use of refrigerants that have high Global Warming Potential (GWP) and other refrigerants that are flammable and/or toxic.  

Although the use of CO2 in refrigeration has become common in supermarket and retail applications, the misconception that it is limited to refrigeration alone is being undone with the trial of a direct–expansion CO2 HVAC system at Woolworths Gordon, on Sydney’s north shore.