Winter 2025

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.

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.

Lessons from a legend

Babylyn Briones is AIRAH’s new Accreditation Officer and Registrar, having started with the Institute in April. Ecolibrium got to know Babylyn, whose work focuses primarily on the AIRAH Professional Engineer Register (APER).

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

Same, but different

AIRAH has prepared a document outlining the Institute’s policy priorities for the freshly re-elected federal government.

Ecolibrium speaks with Brad Prezant, Affil.AIRAH, instructor of the Institute’s new short course on ASHRAE Standard 241. 

AIRAH sends its condolences to the family of Simon Hill, L.AIRAH, who passed away on April 3.

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.

An important changeover of filter standards is underway in Australia, but industry has so far been slow to move.

The human factor

The Victorian government has announced that it will subsidise residential ceiling insulation through the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program from 2026.

The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) has released a policy roadmap to reduce upfront embodied carbon in the built environment.

Amy Lewis from the Safer Air Project introduces a toolkit for making events safe, accessible, and inclusive for those at risk from poor IAQ.

Donald Trump started his second presidency by ordering the US government to wind back or abolish diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, and some major companies followed suit.

Donald Trump’s return to office has had a seismic effect on global markets and muddied the pathway to net zero emissions. Will the Australian HVAC&R industry feel the aftershocks?

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.

HVAC&R professionals Sonia Holzheimer, M.AIRAH, Taylor Burdett, and Claudia Yuan, Stud.AIRAH, share their experiences of the industry, the barriers to entry, and where they see the future for women in HVAC&R.

William Lane, F.AIRAH, makes the case for how formal accreditation could improve commissioning practices across Australia’s HVAC and building services sectors. 

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.

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.

In Australia, we lament the lack of engineering degrees that incorporate HVAC&R and building services. Dr Badr Abdullah, Programme Leader of Building Services and Architectural Engineering at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK, tells us how they developed a successful, specialised building services engineering degree.