Category: Technical Paper

Streamlining electrification in support of decarbonisation

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.

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Feasibility study of wastewater energy transfer for an existing campus building cluster

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

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AIRAH releases Big Data Guideline

AIRAH releases Big Data Guideline

By Sean McGowanRecognising the growing role of data and analytics in our buildings, AIRAH has published the Big Data Guideline, a free resource to support building owners, facility managers, consultants and service providers embarking on their big data journey.  The...

A change in the air

A change in the air

The adoption of ISO 16890 in Australia will support better filter selection and specification, according to Daniel McCaffrey, M.AIRAH, and Peter Mathieson, F.AIRAH, from AIRAH’s IAQ Special Technical Group. Air filtration is a critical part of our HVAC systems. To get...

IAQ on the radar

IAQ on the radar

Mark Vender looks at some key recent developments in IAQ policy across Australia. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, national leaders from a wide range of disciplines have sought to engage government on the need for improving indoor air quality.   But...

Making an impact

Making an impact

Abraham Corona, M.AIRAH, has joined the AIRAH team in a newly created role: Industry Impact Manager.

Honour and duty

Honour and duty

At Canberra’s Australian War Memorial, a geothermal heating and cooling system goes beyond traditional methods to accommodate extreme temperatures.

Australia’s biggest refrigerant leak?

Australia’s biggest refrigerant leak?

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

Fairair

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