HVACR News April-May 2023

An artisanal bakery in Burleigh Heads required a bespoke refrigeration solution for its special fermentation process. Sean McGowan breaks bread with the team behind the project.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Like most people, I would say I work to live rather than live to work. Nevertheless, my overall mood definitely improves when I can make a positive difference through my job.

There are ups and downs. Some weeks –especially working with themes like sustainability in building and construction – the bad news piles up and it’s hard to escape the doom and gloom. Other weeks are better. We might see a long-term project come to fruition, or hear about an inspiring building, or just talk to someone who brings along some new ideas and positive energy.

In this issue of HVAC&R News, we have two features about people who have made a difference.

The first is the story of fridgie and TAFE educator Dave Conyers, who found himself in the small NSW town of Eugowra after a tsunami-like flood wiped the place out late last year. From a chance conversation, he ended up helping with an AC unit, and from there things grew until people from far and wide were helping to air condition an entire town.

And it’s much more than a matter of comfort. Elderly people and babies would have struggled to cope in the summer heat without AC. For them, the only solution would have been to

move somewhere else. Same goes for businesses like the butcher. As Dave said to me when we first spoke about the story, without those basic things, a town will just die.

Instead, Dave and a crew of generous people have brought life and positive energy back to Eugowra. At last count they had installed more than 100 units. Check out the story on page 19. Our cover story is also about Australian town life, and how it’s possible to make a difference, albeit in a different way.

In Burleigh Heads, Queensland, Burleigh Baker has become a big part of the local food scene and the community. This time, the fridgies did their bit in the background, designing and installing a new system to make sure the business is ready for a bright and prosperous future. Owners Geoff and Lisa Dance are definitely the stars of the show, but they wouldn’t

have been able to do it without the help of the team at Elite Refrigeration. Check out that story on page 10.

Whether you are taking centre stage or you’re behind the scenes providing support – which, let’s face it, is often the role of HVAC&R – I hope this issue serves as a reminder that we can make a difference.

Enjoy!

Mark Vender Editor

Dave Conyers (centre) with homeowner and bowling club president Tim Yell (left) and Mudgee-based mature-age apprentice Nathan Heppel.

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1

Send for a Senva

AB Controls, an Australian electronic sensors, control system design and building automation specialist, is offering the Senva AQ2 Series solution.

The company says it is committed to bringing high-quality sensors and controllers to the building industry to make the jobs of HVAC professionals easier. This includes sourcing sensors that have been designed to do the job with the minimum installation time.

“When it comes to indoor air quality information, HVAC professionals can be faced with a multitude of wall- or duct-mounted sensors, more wiring and more inputs to your control system,” says AB Controls.

“But now, USA-based company Senva has come up with a streamlined solution with its AQ2 series.

“Senva’s latest innovative sensor, the AQ2, includes up to nine sensors with three display options in one analogue or BACnet interface wall-mount or duct-mount unit. Programming setpoints has also been made easier with the Senva app and NFT.” Go to www.abcontrols.com.au ■

2 Pipework pro

“Experience clean and precise cold bending of up to 90 degrees on a variety of tubes and pipes such as stainless steel, steel, carbon steel, copper, plastic and multilayer composite tubes with the REMS Curvo 50,” says ANC Distribution, which owns the licence for Australian distribution.

“Offering wrinkle-free bending, it can be used instantly. The quality REMS Curvo 50 gives fast and creep speed operation for precise bending, plus rapid change of bending and back formers to save time. The Curvo 50 is excellent for metalwork and in sanitary, heating, air conditioning, refrigeration and hydraulic applications.

“It is especially suited for steel pipe DIN EN 10255 (DIN 2440), pipe for press fitting systems, hard and half-hard copper pipe, and for thin-walled copper heating pipe according to DIN EN 1057. It can also be used without the need for a vice and includes integral absorption of torque during bending.”

For your nearest REMS reseller locations go to www.ancdist.com.au ■

3 Panasonic’s new HZ Series

Panasonic has launched the HZ Series of reverse-cycle, wall-mounted split-system residential air conditioners.

Panasonic says the latest HZ Series builds upon the success of its premium reverse-cycle series, providing “top-of-the-range efficiency, design and an operating range”.

The HZ Series incorporates Panasonic’s new nanoeX Generator Mark 2 air purifying system, which the company says provides stronger and more effective air purification.

This new series includes a humidity sensor that measures and analyses the humidity level and adjusts accordingly.

“We know that Australians rely on air conditioning units to provide them with optimum comfort in the home, no matter whether cooling or heating is the requirement of the day,” says Panasonic Australia Product Marketing Manager, Air Conditioning, Reggie Lam, Affil.AIRAH. “But with the latest in innovation – such as our new nanoeX Generator Mark 2 technology, enhanced device compatibility and increased climate control options – we know that our new ultra-premium HZ Series will take both comfort and air quality to the next level.”

Go to www.panasonic.com/au ■

4 Highlight from Holyoake

One of the products that Holyoake by Price will be manufacturing in the firm’s new Sydney facility is the Ultrasuite, a customisable operating room air- distribution and lighting solution.

“High-output LED lighting combined with precision equalised laminar airflow eliminates the traditional ‘light ring’ and opens valuable ceiling space for surgical equipment while optimising contaminate removal from the surgical zone,” says the company.

Holyoake by Price says it is committed to providing a new level of service and support for its Australian customers, with its experienced team of engineers and technicians on hand to offer expert advice, support and training to ensure customers get the most out of their critical environment solutions.

Go to www.holyoake.com ■

5 Nexus cracks the code

Nexus Digital Technologies has added QR coding capability to its cloud-based Nexus Service Manager.

“Choosing the correct software to improve efficiency is an important decision in any business,” says the company.

According to Nexus Digital Technologies, its cloud-based Nexus Service Manager can be used on Android or Apple devices and provides a modular-based service software, which customers can tailor to their own needs.

The software now also has QR coding capability with the Onsite Equipment Management module and mobile invoicing. Nexus Digital Technologies says this provide managers with access to a comprehensive system that meets all the needs of a modern air conditioning company.

First released in 2008, the software is Australian owned and developed, and is backed by local Australian support. The company says that by integrating and centralising all business information, the system allows for efficient and more accurate storage and reporting of information.

Go to www.nexusservicemanager.com.au ■

6 Elitech’s weigh forward

Elitech’s new LMC-210 Programmable HVAC Refrigeration Charging Scale is designed to weigh refrigerant containers, in addition to charging directly into a system or recovering from a system.

According to Elitech, the HVAC scale features a measuring weight capacity of 100kg, remote communication between scale body and Elitech Scale App or handhold controller, a tough and durable platform, sealed LCD and touch-pad, long-lasting circuitry, switchable measuring units, and more.

Elitech says that the features include:

• A wireless hand device (with an effective distance of 10m) and mobile software

• High-accuracy and resolution ( ±0.05 per cent rdg + 10g)

• Greater performance reliability and useability

The best resolution in the industry with no compromise on capacity (100kg)

• Can measure in kilograms, ounces or pounds Lightweight and portable at 3.3kg.

Elitech also offers a one-year warranty, 30 days free and amp, and return.

Go to www.elitechau.com ■

Multi‑talented

LG Electronics Australia (LG) has announced the availability of its Multi V Water 5 air solution, which the company says delivers convenience and flexibility for a variety of Australian businesses.

The Multi V Water 5 is intended for commercial spaces. It is designed to offer efficient operation and convenient installation, as well as powerful cooling and heating within a compact design. Various configurations are available to suit a range of commercial buildings.

According to LG, the key heating and cooling features include geothermal applications, which use underground heat sources such as soil, ground water, lakes, and rivers to produce renewable energy for its cooling and heating systems. This results in delivering enhanced temperature control that is less affected by external conditions.

“Our new Multi V Water 5 is a reliable commercial air solution for a variety of buildings and spaces, providing businesses with optimal comfort for all work environments,” says LG’s Andrew Barron. Go to www.lg.com/au ■

8 Siemens connects

Siemens Smart Infrastructure has launched Connect Box, which the company says is “an open and easy-to-use” IoT solution designed to manage small to medium-sized buildings.

“The latest addition to the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio, Connect Box is a user-friendly approach for monitoring building performance, with the potential to optimise energy efficiency by up to 30 per cent and to substantially improve indoor air quality in small-to-medium-sized buildings such as schools, retail shops, apartments or small offices.

“Siemens Xcelerator is an open digital business platform that enables customers to accelerate their digital transformation easier, faster and at scale.

Siemens says Connect Box allows users to accomplish essential daily building management tasks from one place via a cloudbased interface, with no additional gateway or software.

Alarm notifications for potential issues as well as graphics that visualise historical trends provide meaningful insights into the building performance at any time, supporting the optimisation of building operations.

Go to new.siemens.com/au/en/company/about/businesses/ smart-infrastructure.html ■

SERVING UP HOME HOT WATER

A UK company is rolling out small but powerful servers that can be attached to home hot water heating systems. The servers receive the cooling they need, and the householders who install them get free hot water heating in return. The installation works by fitting the server and a patented thermal bridge to a standard 450mm diameter domestic hot water cylinder. When the server generates heat during processing, it transfers this via the thermal bridge to the water in the cylinder, meaning that less energy is required to bring the water to temperature.

Heata, the company behind the initiative, says the unit will provide a useful base load of heating.

“If it ran all day, it would deliver about 4.8kWh,” says Heata, “which is about the amount of hot water an average household uses.”

Heata notes, however, that in practice the utilisation level will be lower, and sometimes the water will already be at temperature, so the unit won’t run. ■

CHINA

NEW TAKE ON SOLAR COOLING

Researchers from Hebei University of Technology in China have developed a photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) air conditioning system that uses an air- cooled condenser and a PV/T condenser combined in series. The system reportedly offers better cooling performance under night conditions.

The novelty of the system consists of using these two components rather than the more commonly used PV/T heat exchanger as the condenser.

“When solar energy and long-wave radiation energy resources are available, the proposed system is suitable regardless of the type of buildings,” researcher Man Fan says. “The system performance is improved by the complementary utilisation of solar energy, air energy and long-wave radiation energy.”

After generating power during the day, the PV/T condenser assists the air-cooled condenser for heat dissipation at night. The system features an evaporator and condenser, a compressor, an electronic expansion valve (EEV), a four-way reversing valve, a gas-liquid separator, and a hot gas bypass valve. It uses R410A refrigerant. ■

GAME ON FOR LIQUID COOLING

A Spanish firm has integrated industry-grade cooling of gaming PCs into a smartphone. The result for OnePlus is its Active CryoFlux system.

“The state-of-the-art Active CryoFlux system comprises two piezoelectric micropumps connected to pipelines sandwiched between an upper and lower diaphragm,” the Iberian telecommunications firm says. “The piezoelectric micropump, usually reserved for industrial use, delivers the power to circulate the icy cryogenic liquid into the pipelines that take the heat away from the chipset. It dissipates heat without significantly increasing the phone’s weight and thickness.

“The level of innovation in this technology is not to be dismissed,” the firm says. “OnePlus filed more than 30 patents for the fluid diaphragm that forms part of the self-developed Active CryoFlux technology, giving the company a significant market edge when it comes to innovation in active cooling technology geared for smartphones.”

The firm says the two micropumps can fit in a limited space of less than 0.2cm³. ■

COLOUR FILM AN EPIC FINDING

A colour-changing film coating that can be applied to buildings is able to switch between heating and cooling modes. A paper recently published in Nature Sustainability suggests the recently developed film could one day cover buildings with poor thermal performance to help radiate unwanted heat in the summer and trap it during the winter.

The new material starts in cooling mode. Beneath an incredibly thin electrical conductor lies a small reservoir of water with copper ions dissolved inside. In this state, the device naturally radiates heat, cooling the inside of a building.

Then, when the conductor layer applies a small electric charge, the dissolved copper deposits on its surface, forming a thin layer over the reservoir. Because copper emits very little of the mid-infrared heat it absorbs, the device now traps heat. The authors estimate that the technology could save 8.4 per cent of the energy used for heating and cooling in climates that experience a drastic swing in temperatures throughout the year. ■

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TOAST OF THE TOWN

Close collaboration between client and contractor has allowed a renowned artisan baker on the Gold Coast to expand his business while managing energy costs with a bespoke fermentation and refrigeration upgrade. Sean McGowan reports.

Known always as a famous surf town, Burleigh Heads is now a thriving, diverse village offering some of the Gold Coast’s best cafés, bars and restaurants.

Burleigh’s James Street is a weekday morning favourite of locals, as well as a weekend destination for those who travel from further afield.

It is here that Burleigh Baker, an artisanal sourdough bakery, has become a local icon. The bakery was established by agricultural economist and former marketing executive Geoff Dance and his wife Lisa.

Both passionate about food integrity and the promotion of gut health and nutrition through their naturally fermented range of products, the couple have become members of the community and played a part in contributing to the village’s evolving “foodie” reputation.

In fact, you’ll frequently find them at the café, ready to chat about the importance of properly fermented breads and natural foods.

“A community’s local baker should be known and trusted,” says Dance, referring to a concept he calls ‘the face of the baker’.

“It’s important that people know where their bread comes from and who it’s made by,” says Dance.

“This is one of the reasons we started Burleigh Baker.”

As demand for their bread products grew, a second bakery was opened in Paradise Point, at the far northern reaches of the Gold Coast. A dedicated bakehouse at Varsity Lakes has also been established to cater for the growing wholesale demand of their hand-crafted produce.

COOL AND SLOW

According to Burleigh Baker, crafting the best sourdough bread is a journey that starts with the fermentation process, and relies on the skill of the bakers and the quality of the ingredients –certified organic and sustainable flours, leaven, sea salt and filtered water.

In line with the company’s food integrity values, a long, cool fermentation process is used to develop the doughs’ complex flavours and optimise digestibility and taste.

“As artisans we hand-form all of our bread, keeping mechanical process to a minimum,” says Dance.

“The loaves are baked using stone hearths and radiated heat. Every ingredient and step in our artisan bread

making process is focussed on upholding natural food integrity, flavour, nutritional value and digestibility.”

Burleigh Baker uses its own natural leaven starters in its sourdough breads – one for traditional wheat-based sourdough, another for rye and spelt-based breads, and one for baguettes and pastry.

Although Burleigh Baker is less than 10 years old, Dance obtained the starters almost 25 years ago from a bakery in France. They are a combination of two naturally occurring organisms: a lactobacillus culture (one of the essential gut probiotics) and naturally occurring native yeasts.

The starter cultures are fed using organic flour and filtered water every 12 hours and are used continuously in the bread making process.

“These natural leavens are very sensitive to any

A CULTURED LIFE

Geoff Dance obtained the starters for the breads baked by Burleigh Baker almost 25 years ago from a bakery in France.

The leavens are a combination of two naturally occurring organisms: a culture like lactobacillus (one of the essential gut probiotics) and natural occurring native yeasts. These work in a symbiotic manner.

The probiotics digest the starches, and complex carbohydrates produce the natural preservative and flavour of lactic acid. This leaves sugars as an output, and the yeast then lives off the simpler sugars to produce the essential CO2 or “bubbles” as we see contained in the dough. The glutens are then expanded by gas as the baker applies heat from the oven.

This effectively creates the infrastructure that holds the bread up and generates the crumb and crust.

“Our customers who have previously experienced gluten intolerance find that the fully fermented carbohydrates in our sourdough breads can be eaten without side effects,” says Dance.

“This has allowed people who could previously not eat bread to enjoy its nutrition and flavour.” ■

Contractor and client relationships –Daniel Bailey (left) and Jason Fisher (centre) from Elite Refrigeration with “The Baker” Geoff Dance.

BEHIND THE BURLEIGH BAKER

Known affectionately as the Burleigh Baker, Geoff Dance grew up in Victoria and studied Agricultural Science at Longerenong in Horsham before graduating in Agricultural Economics at the University of New England (UNE) in Armidale, New South Wales.

He worked in consumer marketing in Australia and New York before moving back home to Australia, feeling the need to get back to his roots.

Dance then worked with a friend from UNE to build up one of Australia’s largest, privately owned grain

inorganic contamination, in both the water and the flour,” says Dance. “In other words, take the best ingredients possible, ensure they are free from contamination and additives, keep the mechanical processing to a minimum, allow time to ensure complete fermentation, promoting digestibility and to allow the leavens to complete their flavour development.”

The dough undergoes 24 to 36 hours of slow, cool-temperature fermentation using strictly controlled and real-time monitored proving for three key variables: time, temperature and humidity. This is where flavour development and digestibility are optimised and the natural leavens, which Dance refers to as “the good bugs”, are allowed to do their work, converting flour into nutritious great tasting sourdough bread.

“The two most frequently asked questions by our customers are, ‘Why does your bread taste so good?’ and (from gluten-intolerant people) ‘How is it I can eat your bread?’. The answers are flavour development, and digestibility.”

Dance says making long, cool-fermented sourdough bread in sub-tropical southeast Queensland is a challenge given local humidity is often around 90–100 per cent, and temperatures range from 24–35˚C for nine months of the year.

“We sort of stumbled on longer fermentation times that effectively created better tasting and more

trading companies in Sydney, which was later sold to the Australian Barley Board. During this time, he worked with some of Australia’s leading grain growers and exporters to preserve the integrity of Australian grain varieties and their regional characteristics.

After learning to make cheese, and recognising the same processes could be applied to bread making, he turned his back on retirement on the farm and jumped at the opportunity to begin a bakery to serve the community of Burleigh.

The Burleigh Baker was born. ■

digestible sourdough, because when we first started, sleep for the baker became paramount and was the major constraint.

“We needed the bread ready for when we had caught up on our sleep – not when today’s outside temperature had control.”

It was this need for sleep that led to a partnership being formed with Elite Refrigeration some eight years ago.

An industry leader in commercial refrigeration and air conditioning across Brisbane and the Gold Coast, Elite Refrigeration has developed a long-standing business partnership with Dance and the Burleigh Baker team over the years.

“We’ve provided 24/7 refrigeration repair, service and maintenance for a number of years, and delivered custom-designed solutions to ensure the refrigeration equipment Burleigh Baker relies on is always operating to optimal performance to meet business needs,” says Nic Essex, M.AIRAH, director of Elite Refrigeration.

That early engagement saw Elite Refrigeration’s lead installer, Jason Fisher, tasked with devising online control mechanisms for time, temperature and humidity. This led to a custom-designed solution being developed, which provides Dance with the ability to create 11 specialised fermentation rooms.

Temperature set-points of 2–55˚C, relative humidity from 5–95 per cent, and fan speeds can be controlled and varied remotely via wi-fi controllers, with fermentation times linked to temperature and humidity.

A BAKERY ON THE RISE

In mid-2022, Burleigh Baker again engaged Elite Refrigeration to increase the refrigeration capacity, and improve the energy performance of systems serving the company’s Varsity Lakes bakehouse.

“Cognisant of rising energy prices, Burleigh Baker was looking to better manage operational costs with a reliable, future-proofed refrigeration system to advance business operations into the future,” says Essex.

The scope of works included the construction of three new rooms to allow for the expansion of the business – a new freezer room, a new coolroom and a new bread slicing room.

Additionally, an existing freezer room and coolroom would be upgraded to operate on new energyefficient refrigeration plant, and new equipment installed to operate an existing space as a bread and croissant cooling tunnel.

Dance worked closely with the Elite Refrigeration team on all facets of the project from design and establishing the project budget, through to risk mitigation and the selection of innovative solutions. Close collaboration between client and contractor, together with the knowledge Elite Refrigeration had obtained about the bakery’s fermentation and starter storage requirements, became critical as a short project deadline was set in order for the business to meet peak seasonal demand.

“This previous knowledge, experience and innovative attitude based on understanding the fermentation process and the storage requirements of the starters, paved the way for the design phase of the project and ensured accuracy in equipment selection to meet the project’s requirements,” says Elite Refrigeration’s Project Manager, Daniel Bailey.

NEW SPACES

Work commenced at the Varsity Lakes bakehouse in early November 2022.

The new 14.4m² coolroom, 18m² freezer room, and 27.3m² bread slicing room were constructed by Passmores Insulated Panel Constructions within the bakehouse facility, while an existing space was converted to a bread cooling tunnel.

To serve these spaces, new refrigeration plant was selected based on energy efficiency and reliability.

The new coolroom and bread slicing room are served by a 12kW medium temperature system, while a 22kW medium temperature system serves the bread cooling tunnel and existing coolroom. Both refrigeration systems operate on R134a refrigerant, with a number of factors considered in its selection including equipment design efficiency, equipment availability and cost effectiveness.

The new and existing freezer rooms are served by a dedicated 12kW low-temperature freezer system operating on R404A refrigerant (see breakout).

Elite Refrigeration worked with Bitzer to carefully select and design each system, including the capability of capacity control via VSD (variable speed drive) or CRII.

“Through the design phase, we worked closely with Bitzer and Kirby to ensure engineering

PROJECT AT A GLANCE

THE PERSONNEL

▲ Client: Burleigh Baker

Geoff Dance

▲ Refrigeration Contractor: Elite Refrigeration

Nic Essex, M.AIRAH, Director

Daniel Bailey, Project Manager

Jason Fisher, Service Manager and Lead Installer

Justin Ward, Installation Technician

THE EQUIPMENT

▲ Condensing units: Bitzer

▲ Evaporators: Kirby

▲ Coolrooms: Passmores Insulated Panel

Construction

Source: www.burleighbaker.com

Where the magic happens –an upgraded bread fermentation room.

of all equipment selected maximised energy savings and provided the project with quality refrigeration equipment,” says Bailey.

“This solution has ensured the varying load requirements of the refrigeration and fermentation systems were managed effectively, and the energy- efficiency advantages offered by each system were maximised.”

A number of specific functions also needed to be met, requiring systems to be versatile to suit the demands of the bakehouse on any given day.

For instance, the bread slicing room was designed to operate between 10–19˚C on a day-to-day basis to provide optimal bread slicing conditions.

But according to Elite Refrigeration’s Jason Fisher, this room is also functionally versatile.

“As well as providing conditions to suit bread slicing, this room was designed with the capability to also operate as a fermentation room, achieved by using heating and humidity control equipment,” he says.

“And beyond that, it is also able to operate at 2˚C to provide additional storage, thereby giving the bakehouse and business greater flexibility.”

A special coating was applied to all installed evaporators to ensure long-lasting and resilient corrosion protection.

All installation works were carried out while the bakehouse remained fully operational, with careful consideration given to ensure business operations were not affected.

Planned staging and scheduling of system shutdowns and changeover periods was done in close consultation with Dance and the Burleigh Baker team. This required Elite Refrigeration’s team to pay special attention to resource availability, and align this with the delivery timeline.

“Manufacturer and contractor expectations were also outlined and clearly communicated, allowing for the flexing of project scope and timelines while maintaining the required project delivery date,” says Bailey.

READY FOR MORE

The project was completed in only six weeks, with all systems operational by mid-December 2022, in time for a significant increase in seasonal demand.

The new refrigeration plant and equipment was tested against high system capacity load requirements and has since fared well in the high ambient conditions experienced during a particularly hot Gold Coast summer.

“Geoff and the team at Burleigh Baker were able to increase production significantly,” says Essex, “and December is always one of the busiest periods for the business.”

Not only has the refrigeration equipment performed above and beyond expectations, but Burleigh Baker has seen energy bills reduce by 25 per cent while its refrigerated space has increased significantly.

According to Dance, the project has provided Burleigh Baker with the scope to continue to grow and improve.

“We now have been able to increase the production of the business and increase the quality of our products to an even greater level,” he says.

“The team at Elite Refrigeration has been fantastic, and we have all worked together to innovate and create a very specific fermentation and refrigeration system that has benefited our business greatly.” ■

REFRIGERANT SELECTION

The Elite Refrigeration team reviewed several options of refrigerants before settling on R134a for the medium-temperature systems and R404A for the low-temperature system at the Burleigh Baker’s Varsity Lakes bakehouse.

Project Manager Daniel Bailey says that although they fully support the transition towards refrigerants with lower global warming potential (GWP), there are several considerations that are still proving a major factor.

“I try to guide clients towards low-GWP options,” says Bailey, “but when your system refrigerant charge is 50–100kg and the cost difference is as much as $50 more per kilo, it’s a major disincentive.”

Bailey also notes that that currently the Australian supplier market does not readily stock the necessary ancillaries to support the new generation of refrigerants, for example, mechanical TX valves.

“Why are we being advised to install new equipment stamped with R404A, but then advised to use an alternative next-generation refrigerant to charge the system and commission accordingly?” says Bailey. “We need to change the mindset.”

The situation is even more difficult, Bailey says, when dealing with first-time clients. In these situations, there is no opportunity to educate clients about refrigerant gases and the HFC phase - down. Rather, when there are several tenders on the table, the client generally focuses on the lowest first cost.

“As a business we also must remain competitive in the market,” Bailey says.

“Is everyone in the industry future proofing when designing systems to ensure adequate capacity capability allowances of the system is available at the time of future retrofitting new generation refrigerants? If we are really going to transition, something needs to be done about the price and ensuring that all the necessary equipment is available in the market.

“Further attention is also required to providing industry education. Clear direction with a detailed transition pathway which incentivises the industry is key.” ■

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

According to Elite Refrigeration Director Nic Essex, M.AIRAH, Burleigh Bakery owner Geoff Dance had energy efficiency as a high impact item for the project.

“Monitoring and reducing energy costs is critical to Burleigh Baker’s business operations,” says Essex, “and the refrigeration plant and equipment represents a high percentage of the energy costs incurred by the business.” ■

Jason Fisher and Daniel Bailey getting hands-on with the new condensing units.

Newly designed and installed bread cooling tunnel.

WHEN SALARIES DON’T STACK UP

New laws will put the onus on employers to close the gender pay gap.

We often talk about the fact that the HVAC&R workforce is predominantly male – and the need for a better balance. A related issue is the difference between the average earnings for workers of different genders, and its cumulative organisational effect. This is known as the gender pay gap.

And it is a major issue. According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA), Australia’s national gender pay gap is 14.1 per cent. In other words, from May 2022, women in Australia earned $263.90 less than men each week.

In the construction sector, this gap is higher than the national average. And it’s actually getting worse. In 2022 it was 18.8 per cent, up from 16.6 per cent in 2021.

GAP ANALYSIS

To address this issue, the federal government has introduced the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) Bill 2023 into parliament.

From 2024, the WGEA will publish gender pay gaps of employers with 100 or more workers, shifting the responsibility for action from the industry to individual companies.

“In reporting gender pay gaps, WGEA will look at the difference between the average earnings for men and women at organisations,” says Dr Rachel Howard, Senior Advisor at 89 Degrees East. “For the first time,

members of the public, media and government will be able to search company-specific gender pay gap data on the WGEA website.”

The information in the 2024 reports will be based on data reported to March 31, 2023. As well as submitting their filings for the public reports, employers can provide a statement outlining their actions to address the gender pay gap.

“While many companies, particularly those in male-dominated industries, will not be able to close their gender pay gap before public reporting commences, they can take steps to improve it over time, and to create gender equality strategies designed to achieve continual improvement,” says Dr Howard.

HVAC&R FOCUS

There are unknowns as we move into this new set-up. Hopefully, the new rules will give us a better view of what is happening in the HVAC&R sector, but it’s not clear yet how sector-specific data could be collected. There is also the question of how the pay gap will be calculated and reported. For example, could a contracting firm bring on five new female apprentices, only to find that because they are paid a lower salary than other workers, the company’s gender pay gap actually looks worse?

Ura Sarfejoo, M.AIRAH, is Pacific Leader, Integrated Technologies – Digital Solutions and Sustainable Infrastructure at Johnson Controls. She is also the chair of the Women of AIRAH special technical group (STG) and a board director at AIRAH. She says that the bill is a step in the right direction.

“While the new bill currently only applies to businesses with 100 employees or more, I certainly hope that it serves as a wake-up call for all organisations big and small,” she says.

“I hope it encourages the whole industry to be more mindful of the gender pay gap and take proactive measures to close it.

“Like many other industries, the HVAC&R industry is facing significant challenges in attracting and retaining talent. Ensuring that we have more equitable, diverse and inclusive workplaces will guarantee better outcomes for individual organisations as well as the industry as a whole.”

On International Women’s Day – March 8 –AIRAH held an event to celebrate women in AIRAH. The photo shows (from left) new AIRAH CEO Trish Hyde, presenter Dr Rachel Howard, and Women of AIRAH Chair Mikaila Ganado, M.AIRAH.

Skills summary

■ What?

A guide to HVAC system requirements for effective control.

■ Who?

Relevant for anyone involved with developing, designing, procuring, installing, integrating and managing buildings and building control systems.

HVAC system requirements for effective control

Effective control system performance requires careful design of the mechanical system and selection of components. Consideration needs to be given to the following by the mechanical system designer and the control engineer:

1. Design distribution system to deliver air to the space

Extend ductwork to all parts of the space.

• Insulate ductwork if it runs through a space where the temperature is considerably different from that of the air within the duct, or if the space dew point is likely to be above the supply air temperature.

• Locate RA grilles where they will aid in distribution and eliminate short circuiting of the supply air.

• Make any necessary provision for transfer or relief air, e.g. transfer ducts, door grilles or door undercuts.

2. Select the correct type of diffusers for the space

Do not have low ceiling diffusers blow directly downward.

• Use specialised diffusers for high-ceiling applications to prevent hot air stratification. Use several small diffusers rather than one large one for better air distribution/mixing.

• For variable air volume systems, prioritise selection of diffusers that provide high diffusion performance at low flow to maximise potential flow turndown.

3. Size and select the correct type of heating coils

• Size coils to meet their maximum loads. Avoid oversized coils for best control.

CONTROLS AND HVAC

Controls and control systems are fundamental to how a building works and how individual building systems or services operate. Just as the IT revolution has changed all aspects of our personal and work lives, so the rapid development of digital controls has changed all aspects of how modern buildings and their systems work.

Building management and control systems are not items that can be taken out of a box and plugged into a building. Rather they are the brain of the building that must be connected to all of the senses (sensors and monitors) and all of the muscles (equipment, motors, actuators), before the building management control system (BMCS) is considered truly formed.

This Skills Workshop explains the HVAC system requirements for effective control, and offers checklists to assist with the strategy, implementation and the user interfaces of control devices.

Use multiple inline coils where the required temperature differential is high.

• Design preheat coils with a maximum temperature rise of 16 to 19 Kelvin.

4. Size and select the correct cooling and refrigeration equipment Consider dividing the cooling capacity among several coils. A low-load and a high-load coil can be used in series, and parallel coils can be considered where active dehumidification is required.

• Consider some form of reheat if dehumidification is required (refer to DA20 – Humid Tropical Air Conditioning for low energy reheat solutions).

• Prevent short cycling of PAC unit system compressors by selecting a system with: – Multiple, variable speed compressors

– Variable speed supply air fans

– Variable speed condenser fans – Sizing to match the load.

5. Consider separate mechanical systems for areas if their heating or cooling loads differ greatly from the other areas

Centralised heating and cooling systems are often constrained to run at very low load to serve small parasitic loads that have different profiles to the majority of system loads. The following points should be considered in system design in order to avoid these scenarios: Zones that are expected to have significantly different operating hours to the majority of the system should not be served by the centralised system. Zones that are not expected to have seasonal cooling load profiles should not be served by the centralised cooling system (i.e., computer server rooms, equipment rooms, meeting rooms or units without economy cycle).

Zones with minimal internal load and high infiltration such as ground floor lobbies should ideally not be served by a centralised heating system. Slab heating systems should ideally not be served by the centralised heating system due to the long lead times these systems require to achieve temperature.

• The building fabric design should ensure that adequate insulation is installed on levels with boundaries shared with unconditioned space to avoid these levels driving heating and cooling systems when they would otherwise not be required (i.e., floors above carparks, above/below plant rooms).

6. Provide physical arrangement of system components to permit suitable location of sensing elements

• Furnish sufficient spacing between coils to permit installation of sensing elements. Provide ductwork downstream from a coil or other components to allow placement of the sensing element.

7. Install the sensing elements in the correct location

• Locate sensing elements where they will measure the variables they are intended to control.

• Locate space sensing elements on an interior wall where they can measure a condition representative of the whole space. Ensure zone temperature sensors are located:

– Not exposed to direct sunlight

– Not exposed to equipment

– Not directly exposed to supply airflows

• Locate air pressure and flow pick-up elements away from immediate fan discharges and provide with capacity tanks where necessary to eliminate surges and pulsations.

• Locate humidifier leaving air humidity sensors no less than 2.5m and no more than 9m downstream of the humidifier.

• Locate CO2 sensors in the conditioned space for ideal control.

If using return air sensing, ensure CO2 sensors are located in a position where there will still be airflow when the system is operating in economy cycle mode. Consider the physical arrangement of humidity system components.

Locate humidifiers downstream from a source of heat.

Locate reheat coils downstream from cooling coils.

– Provide unlined ductwork downstream of humidifiers, and straight for a minimum of 3m. Note that AS/NZS 3666 has additional compliance requirements.

8. Size and select the correct type of control valves

• Select mixing/diverting arrangements based on the type of control required.

• Select two-way and three-way control valves to maintain minimum distribution flow.

• Do not oversize modulating control valves.

• Select control valves that position properly on HVAC shutdown and on loss of motive force.

9. Allow air handling and control system design to provide energy conservation

The energy efficiency requirements of Section J of the National Construction Code 2019 have been significantly enhanced in the 2019 version and should be referred to in system design as the starting point for energy efficiency consideration (as per statutory requirements but also as good practice).

• Use space sensors, rather than OA sensors, to determine reset schedules. For example, use the damper signal from space PI control loops to reset supply air temperature set-points.

• Do not permit air handlers to introduce OA to a building area which is unoccupied or during the warm-up period unless required for night purge or IAQ.

• Use PI control where elimination of control offset conserves energy or increases comfort.

• Avoid control strategies based purely on high-select or low-select (for example controlling a chilled water valve based on the highest zone temperature sensor reading). A failed sensor or erroneous reading can drive the system into overcooling (or overheating). For a full list of HVAC control routines refer to Appendix B of AIRAH DA28 Building Management and Control Systems (BMCS) and the AIRAH/OEH HVAC Optimisation Guide

10. Provide HVAC ventilation sequences that comply with current IAQ codes and standards

Refer to the NCC, AS 1668.2 ventilation standard, and ABCB / AIRAH publication Indoor Air Quality Handbook

11. Ensure that control system designers fully understand the complete building HVAC system

Refer to HVAC system components manufacturers’ recommendations for application requirements and guidelines.

12. Hard-wire safeties if on–off–auto switches are provided

• Hard-wire all temperature low limit, fire, and pressure safeties if the system can be

easily operated manually. In cases where a BMCS operator monitoring station is provided, the safeties are also usually monitored by the local digital controller.

• If override switches are not provided, and system operation is always dependent upon the digital control system, safeties may be wired to the digital controller for control and monitoring, thus saving duplicate wiring. The real value of the safeties is achieved by proper mounting, testing, and maintenance of such devices.

13. Place control valves on the leaving side of water coils

• Control valves on the leaving side of water coils leaves pressure in the coil when the valve is closed. This helps removal of air through the air vent on the leaving side of the coil, and also prevents the possibility of air being induced into the system through the vent if the pump produces a negative pressure in the coil return line.

14. Consider the ability of the HVAC system operator to understand the system when designing graphics for the operator interface

• Ensure the Functional Description is kept up to date and stored in a readily accessible location. The Functional Description should contain:

Descriptions (in non-technical language) of the intended logic of each operational sequences and control strategy.

– System schematics to show how all of the system components interact.

A points list outlining all physical and key virtual points and their defined purpose. Each BMCS graphics screen should display the values and status of key plant and control variables

For a list of recommended content for BMCS Graphics Screens refer to Appendix D of AIRAH DA28 Building Management and Control Systems (BMCS).

Controls for end-users

These checklists focus on the strategy, implementation and the user interfaces of control devices located in occupied spaces and operated by individual users. They are particularly concerned with achieving good results with minimum energy use, especially through good integration of natural and mechanical systems and in avoiding equipment running unnecessarily. Where controls for end-users is a focus of design, the following items should be checked with the controls specification.

Checklist for building designers

❏ Does the controls specification require controls to be accessible to the building’s users at the point of need?

❏ Has the specification for user controls been based on evidence from known occupant requirements, such as occupant satisfaction surveys?

❏ Does the design specification make clear the anticipated energy savings and occupant satisfaction that will accrue from well-designed, installed and fine-tuned user controls?

❏ Does the controls specification cover the effective, reliable, and economic operation of user controls?

❏ Is the controls specification written so that the context of use drives the controls solution, rather than by the thinking that controls technology by itself, will be sufficient?

❏ Does the specification require the controls to deliver a quick response to the user on what is happening? (Note: Some systems respond slowly, such as underfloor heating)

❏ Does the controls specification require the user controls to give instant, tangible feedback? (Such as a click followed up by visual indication of system status, such as a readout or light.)

❏ Does the controls specification require systems to revert to their lowest-energy mode when they are not required? (A general rule is manual on, manual and auto-off.)

❏ Does the controls specification issued to the controls subcontractor contain clauses covering clarity of purpose, intuitive switching, appropriate and clear labelling and annotation, ease of use, indication of system response, and appropriate fine degree of fine control?

❏ Does the controls specification require central controls to keep conditions to a specific setpoint?

Note that tight control of internal conditions is often wasteful and inappropriate and that reasonable limits might be more appropriate, particularly for control of space temperature.

❏ Does the controls specification require the controls supplier(s) and installer(s) to provide the facility and/or space on or beside the controller for explanatory labelling?

❏ Is the controls specification clear when the occupant controls are linked to, and communicating over, the building management system communications network?

❏ Does the controls specification make clear the degree to which the occupant controls can control the relevant items of plant in each particular specification?

❏ Does the controls specification make clear the conditions under which a field controller will override settings changed by users on their local control?

❏ Does the controls specification contain a clause requiring override facilities to control the operation of devices during out-of-hours occupation?

❏ Does the controls specification contain provision for requirements for reviewing and improving the performance of user controls and the systems they control, in the first 6-12 months of building occupation? (This would benefit from a fully-funded contract provision that covers whole building fine-tuning, outside of defects and liabilities period).

Checklist for controls manufacturers and suppliers

❏ Do you have a mechanism by which the design team can define a special (non-catalogue) user controller or labelling system that could be better tailored to specific devices in the building (such as lights and blinds)?

❏ Have you made the architect aware of the controls requirements, and are you aware of any specific controls requirements made by the architect? (To control windows and blinds, for example.)

❏ Does your guidance to the controls installer include specific advice on the importance of placing a controller in a position suitable for needs of the users, and for the effect of the controller on space conditions?

Check the following against the designer’s controls specification:

❏ Are the proposed user control devices matched to the specific controls task?

❏ Do they possess clarity of purpose?

❏ Are the proposed controls simple to understand, use and maintain?

❏ Will generic, off-the-shelf control devices have sufficient functionality, or will they need further attention if what they do in respect of the specific controls task is to be intuitively obvious?

❏ Do your proposed user controls provide enough fine or stepped control?

❏ Does the labelling and annotation provided on your controls possess sufficient detail to be understood by the average building user?

❏ Do your proposed user controls give clear and tangible feedback on system status and operation, such as an audible click and/ or display of system status and operation

Check the following with the system installer

❏ Has the installer been informed and/or educated on the context-specific requirements where your controls will be used?

❏ Has the installer received guidance on the importance of having context-specific solutions (and avoiding off-the-shelf controls which do not have clear user information) for critical devices like HVAC units, blinds and windows?

❏ Has the installer been instructed to provide finetuning and user familiarisation during handover and the initial months of building occupation?

❏ When working directly for clients, can the system installer demonstrate that it has involved building users, facilities staff and maintenance staff in the selection of user controls?

❏ Is the installer prepared to provide additional labelling of user controls in the light of early end-user experience, and has this been included in the cost plan?

❏ Have you included provisions for initial training in the use of controls for the building occupants (such as computerbased training on controls operation)?

Checklist for controls installers

The following items should be checked with the controls manufacturer:

❏ Do the user controls possess a level of functionality appropriate to the specific task, as understood by the building’s users rather than design specialists?

❏ Are the architects and site contractors aware of the need to locate the user controllers close to the devices they control or where the users want to access them?

❏ Have you provided the right annotation or enough labelling to ensure that users will know precisely how to operate the controls?

Checklist during commissioning:

❏ Do all user controls in the building have suitable annotations or labels?

❏ Is the facilities manager fully aware of the purpose of each controller?

❏ Do the operation and maintenance documents explain the purpose of the controls, and ways to adjust them within the limits set by the design?

❏ Do the user controls possess a level of functionality appropriate to the specific task, as understood by the building’s users rather than design specialists?

Checklist during ongoing occupation

(some of the following may require extra contract provisions):

❏ Will you solicit feedback from building users on usability, and propose any remedial actions to improve the as-installed controls?

❏ Will you check whether any user controls need fine-tuning, particularly to match changes in main plant operation? (This should be separate from defects and liability remediation)

❏ Will you check whether any user control presets need resetting to balance user satisfaction and energy efficiency objectives/targets?

❏ Will you check to ensure that user controls are not defaulting systems to on, wasting energy and annoying the occupants?

❏ Will you check to ensure that user controls are not being unnecessarily overridden by central controls in a way that conflicts with the original design intent and controls specification?

❏ Are the setpoints in user controls suitably flexible to allow users to change their comfort conditions without causing disruption to central controls or wasting energy?

❏ Can building occupants use their local controls to achieve timely, effective, and lasting changes to their comfort conditions? (Note: systems must be commissioned to operate within their design parameters).

❏ The usability and performance of user controls can be improved by adopting a long term (12 months) separately funded controls fine -tuning agreement with the building owner. This would not necessarily include maintenance but would include staff training and additional explanatory labelling for user controls.

Source: Controls for end users – a guide for good design and implementation, Building Control Industry Association, UK/ BSRIA / Usable Buildings Trust, 2007, www.usablebuildings.co.uk

Lessons from building occupant studies

Buildings can be improved through better understanding of their performance in use, and more attention to detail with their design, construction and management. Independent post- occupancy studies and management of feedback are a valuable method of closing the loop in the building delivery process. From over 300 studies conducted worldwide, including over 50 in Australia, the main considerations for designers, builders and building managers are:

Designers

Keep things simple

• Do things well

• Think about performance over time as well as the physical form of the space. Keep controls for users as close to the point of need as possible.

• Remember that user needs vary widely.

• Do not design for a norm.

Maintenance of controls

Builders

• Lack of air tightness is increasingly critical, especially in green buildings.

• Integrate trades packages properly. Get feedback on performance of building.

Building managers

• Treat building users with respect. Don’t patronise or ignore them.

• Respond rapidly to complaints, however seemingly trivial.

• Insist that designers think about usability and manageability for the long term.

Controls and maintenance

The fundamental purpose of controls is to regulate the performance of plant to meet system operational requirements. Control systems act to achieve and then maintain a set condition. Controls play a key role in energy- efficient operation and sustainability. Control irregularities can be a significant cause of inefficient operation and excessive energy consumption in HVAC&R systems. Control systems can fail or perform poorly for the following reasons:

Poor design

• Poor location or installation of sensors

• Low- quality sensors

• Oversized dampers and valves

• Incorrect commissioning

Inadequate maintenance or system tuning. The most important aspect of control systems is that the operator and maintainer of the system understand the control logic and design intent. Controls need to be well managed and maintained and if the logic and intent of control systems cannot be readily understood the system will need to be simplified or training provided. Control systems can be relatively simple or highly complex. As the capability of the control system rises, the costs and complexity also tend to rise, leading to an increasing level of operating knowledge and maintenance expertise required, see Figure 1. The effective functioning of any control system will depend on the correct location, positioning and calibration of each control sensor. Recalibration of controls and sensors is a critical factor in the ongoing maintenance and system tuning regime. Constant recalibration of sensors can be time consuming and selection of high-quality control components at design stage can significantly reduce recalibration requirements and set-point drift. Where occupants are provided with individual or general control interfaces, training or documentation should be provided to ensure that they appreciate the mode of operation that will produce the optimum results. For centralised control systems, access should be restricted to authorised personnel only. Intelligent controls can be arranged for self-monitoring, which can assist in maintenance management and delivery.

Type of controls

■ Integrated control systems

■ Building management systems

■ Direct digital control

■ Simple automatic control

■ Manual control

■ No control

Characteristics of controls

■ Increasing maintenance expertise

■ Increasing operation knowledge

■ Increasing capital costs

■ Increasing system complexity

■ Increasing control capability

Next month: Fundamentals of water flow

Figure 1 – Control system capabilities

FRIDGIES TO THE RESCUE

A wall of water hit the town of Eugowra at 9am on Monday, November 14, 2022.

No one was expecting the scale of devastation, and the town of about 780 residents was left shattered. Two lives were lost in the flash flooding. Houses were literally washed away, and many were moved off their foundations. What was left was uninhabitable. People lost everything –lives were destroyed.

David Conyers, a TAFE teacher from Bathurst went to help. His girlfriend – a volunteer with Bathurst Daybreak Rotary in conjunction with team leaders from Orange Daybreak Rotary and other service organisations – was providing daily meals for the townspeople left stranded at the caravan park, and noted that all the fridges there were running hot.

She asked Conyers, a refrigeration mechanic by trade, if he could take a look.

“It just exploded from there,” says Conyers. And the roots of Fridgy’s 4 Eugowra were planted.

DISASTER STRIKES

Eugowra resident Tim Cheney has gone to hell and back since the floods. He not only tragically lost his girlfriend, but his 84-year-old mother only narrowly survived after “going under” several times, swallowing dirty water as she sought sanctuary in her kitchen. When she was eventually rescued she spent weeks in hospital.

“I’d been up since 5am sandbagging houses around our street,” Cheney recalls. “When I saw water coming across the paddocks, I checked on Mum

and she was as calm as can be – the water was probably only a foot deep then.

“So I bolted back to my house, because my dog was locked up in there. Then all hell broke loose. Before I knew it, my dog and everything was washed away.”

In the midst of the chaos, his sister was on the phone crying, and his girlfriend called to say she was stuck in her ute and couldn’t get out.

“Then the phones died. We had no power, no phones, and it was four hours before I could wade across to Mum’s.”

When he got there, debris from the canola fields was piled all around the house, up to the roof.

“I found Mum in the kitchen,” he says. “She’d been in there in the water the whole night. Her front windows

When the small town of Eugowra in central-west NSW was all but wiped out last year by an inland tsunami, a lone RAC mechanic started a movement to help them. Louise Belfield reports.

had blown in, the back windows had blown out, and she had water up to her chest because she couldn’t climb onto anything.”

When the flood finally receded, everything was gone. Either ruined by water or washed away. Cheney and his mother, like so many others, were eventually evacuated from what was left of their homes and ended up renting a house in the nearby town of Parkes.

AFTER THE FLOOD

Cheney began the gargantuan clean-up task at his own house, and his air conditioning units had not fared well.

“Then this bloke just knocked on my door and said ‘Do you want me to look at your air conditioner?’

That bloke was David Conyers.

“He pulled the cover off and said, ‘Well, it’s never going to work again’. He then said, ‘do you know anyone else who needs aircon?’

“Mum had recently paid a lot for a new unit … he looked at that and said, ‘she’s a goner’, then … ‘anyone else?’”

And so Conyers worked his way around the town with Cheney, going from house to house and knocking on doors.

“Before we knew it we’d looked at about 20 houses and every house had a split system or wall unit that had been ruined,” Cheney says.

Conyers started sourcing free air conditioners, but they knew they couldn’t just give everyone

A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM

Although Conyers has seen 25 different tradies come through to help, as well as a bunch of “retired guys”, he’s still desperate for installers.

“I know a lot of people in the industry, but I don’t like to overtax them because I’ve been in the trade and I know what it’s like. For someone to give up a Saturday – or even a week – when they’re already working a 50–60-hour week is huge.”

Conyers has been able to conscript a few of his TAFE students from Bathurst, where he teaches air conditioning and refrigeration.

“I’ve had a few come out to install, so not only did they help out, but it’s also a good community exercise for them as well as learning another aspect of their trade.”

Nick Grabianski is one of the many who came to help. The Dubbo-based student, already an electrician by trade, has been travelling to Bathurst every six weeks for the past two years to do the air conditioning and refrigeration course.

“I heard about the flood on the news and had a few words with David, who was actively looking for people,” he says. “I ended up being one of about 20 people who went to help.”

Grabianski spent a day with Conyers, replacing a ducted unit in a home. A trade assistant from the Kiwi Disaster Relief team gave a hand with whatever else was needed.

“When I got there I couldn’t believe it,” Grabianski says. “There were houses that had actually been lifted up and thrown into other people’s backyards, and directly next to where we were working a house had been swept away.

a new system, so he and Cheney agreed that night to set some parameters. First, they looked to help the aged and families with small children. As if the situation for everyone weren’t bad enough, the heat was unbearable.

An avalanche of goodwill followed. People had their houses stripped, Gyprocked, painted, ceilings repaired, floorboards sanded and coated by volunteers; furniture, kitchens and electrical items were donated from a huge number of supporters. Cheney says he cannot thank enough the hordes of people who knocked on his door offering all kinds of help, who all had the exactly the skills he needed to make his and many others’ homes habitable again.

“Dave managed to get me a reconditioned Daikin the same size as the one I lost, so I was really lucky,” he said. His was the tip of the iceberg.

Conyers started by trying to track down second-hand units, and people also wanted to donate them.

“Then Rotary approached me and pledged $35,000 and Beijer Ref contacted me offering air conditioners for about half of what they usually cost.

“So that’s when I set up Fridgy’s 4 Eugowra,” Conyers says. “It was where anyone who wanted to contribute labour or equipment could register to come and help.

“Beijer Ref were amazing, and that $35,000 I got from Rotary bought us 30 brand-new units which we’ve been installing over the last couple of weeks. All at no cost to the customer.”

“People have basically got nothing left. The whole experience was a shock to the system, and the house I was working on had already essentially been cleaned up.”

ESSENTIAL SERVICES

The local butcher was another business that was hard hit.

“This butcher has won state awards for his sausages, out in the middle of nowhere, and his cooler went underwater,” Conyers says. “I contacted a company in Sydney – Star East Refrigeration – and they gave me a brand-new sealed unit at a really good price. So now he’s got a new cooler and two-door glass fridge to display his stuff. A town like that needs a butcher shop and not have to drive for miles to the next town to get their meat.”

While Conyers was doing the coolroom installation, a truckie who had driven all the way down from Narrandera came in and asked when the shop was going to open again.

“I said ‘Mate, it’s just been flooded, it’s going to take a while’. So then he told me he’s been driving trucks through Eugowra for 30 years and buying what he said were the best sausages in Australia!”

The supermarket has also reopened after having a $10,000 coolroom donated by a Bathurst business – another example of what Conyers describes as overwhelming generosity.

A young man from Sydney who had bought three houses as an investment but had two of them wash away was also helped out by Bathurst businesses.

The devastation outside the house where Tim Cheney's mother was trapped in a flooded kitchen for a whole night.

“He was probably the hardest hit, but he came up from Sydney and donated two days of his time to help put in aircons,” says Conyers. “I put out a plea to help this bloke and people in my town said, ‘What do you need?’. I got everything I asked for: insulation, Gyprock, a clothes dryer, hotplate and hot water system.”

Early on in the clean-up, local contractor Clews Refrigeration together with Actrol Bathurst donated 10 new aircon units and wall brackets to the town. Every unit is now installed 1.5m above the ground.

“I just can’t thank the people of Bathurst enough,” says Conyers. “Every day, someone’s donated something: furniture, fridges, washing machines, dishwashers, TVs.

“I had a lady just ring and donate $1,000 for Gyprock. Schneider Electrical kicked in nearly $10,000 worth of much-needed electrical gear including about 300 power points and circuit breakers. Clipsal and HPM have donated probably one thousand power points. Bunnings has donated a lot of electrical cables, fittings and Gyprock. I’ve even had small businesses saying, ‘What do you need?’.

“One told me to make a list of what I needed and put about $2,000 worth of gear on his business account. He just paid for it!

“Former Wollongong, now Orange-based company Standard Supply Company (Plaztec) also donated a pallet of cover duct, brackets and fittings.”

There were houses that had actually been lifted up and thrown into other people’s backyards

Experienced tradie Darryl Burgess (left) with second-year apprentice, Callum Furner.

A TOWN SAYS THANKYOU

Eugowra residents are so grateful for the help that they have contributed to a fund to pay for all the volunteers’ meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“The people here had no warning of the flood and no time," says Conyers. "Eight minutes and next thing

they had 1.5m of water through their town.

“Every time we go to the pub there there’s 10 beers put down in front of us. We’re pretty popular! But I bet there’s never been anywhere in Australia before where 125 air conditioners have been installed for free!”

Despite his ordeal and his loss, Cheney feels “very blessed” to have met Dave, and wants to get more help for him and the work he is doing.

FRIDGY ANGELS

Kon Athanasiades is one of many who gave up his valuable work time and money to help, and donated air conditioners.

Based in Melbourne, the sole trader who specialises in domestic air conditioning possibly travelled the furthest – about a nine-hour drive for him.

He came across the plea for help at Eugowra on Facebook.

“It said a lot of people were without homes, with people still living in caravans … And it was pretty hot every day back then, so I decided to help,” says Athanasiades.

“We all have 365 days in a year to make money, so what’s a week in the big scheme of things?”

He was in Eugowra in the last week of January 2022, two months after the flood.

“A lot of guys were coming and going, mostly

from the Bathurst area,” he says. “I was expecting to see a lot of debris still around but it had mostly been cleaned up.

“But what I did see was houses without plaster, houses with holes in the sides of them, houses moved back from their foundations … One install I did had debris on the inside of the flyscreen door higher than me, and it was on the inside of all the houses. It was wild to see. Big forces of nature.”

Everyone worked to a plan, he said. All donated new air conditioners went to homes housing the elderly or new-born babies.

“Guys came from Sydney, Bathurst, Canberra, and there were a whole bunch of wholesalers who were giving pretty big discounts on units as well.

“There were a couple of good heads down there.

I’m glad I went.” ■

“If we can get any installers just to give up one or two days that would be a huge help … We can always put them up at the showgrounds and feed them.” And the townspeople are already well-practised in that – in expressing their gratitude.

“Dave’s a bit of a celebrity here,” Cheney said. “I don’t think he’s had to buy a beer at the club for a while.” ■

Some of the many people who lent a hand in Eugowra, including Dave Conyers, third from left.

Nearly all the air conditioning units in the town were destroyed by the floods.

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HOORAY FOR HARRISON!

The fact that you are reading this magazine means you may already know about refrigeration pioneer James Harrison. If you don’t, listen up!

MEET THE ICE MAKER

Harrison was the first to create ice via mechanical means, and he did it right here, Down Under, in 1854. He used an ether-vapour compression refrigeration system, with a compressor that forced ether through a condenser, where it cooled and liquefied. The liquefied gas was then circulated through refrigeration coils, and vaporised again, cooling down the surrounding machine.

By the following year, the system was refined such that he submitted his first patent application in Victoria – granted in February 1855 with the title “Refrigerating Machine”. After fine-tuning and exhibiting his invention across Europe, Harrison set up the machine in Melbourne, where he began producing slabs and blocks of ice.

A true pioneer, his obsession with refrigeration would unfortunately not translate to sustained financial prosperity. His attempts to establish shipboard refrigeration between Australia and the UK met with failure. This disappointment resulted in his life’s work remaining unfinished.

Nevertheless, Harrison’s boldness, creativity and ingenuity will long be remembered, even as the Australian HVAC&R industry continues its evolution.

AIRAH maintains Harrison’s legacy with an annual award – the Harrison Medal –and by celebrating Harrison’s birthday on April 17. Our office, the James Harrison Centre, is also named in his honour.

GENIUS ON DISPLAY

But AIRAH is by no means the only organisation paying homage to this great Australian inventor. The Geelong and Region Branch of the National Trust (Vic) – GRBNT –continues to advocate for Harrison’s ongoing recognition. And earlier this year, the GRBNT organised an exhibition on Harrison at Geelong’s Vintage Machinery Rally.

The main exhibit was an operating model of Harrison’s 1857 ice -making machine built by Warwick Bryce, who was inspired by Harrison’s ingenuity, design and untrained engineering skills.

“His model excited a great deal of interest, especially when, after running for about 10 minutes, it produced a small disc of ice,” says Lex Chalmers OAM, Convener of the GRBNT City of Design Sub-committee.

According to Chalmers, it is likely that Harrison was Australia’s only contributor to the Second Industrial Revolution when he achieved ice-making on a large scale. In 2017, when Geelong was designated as Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design, Harrison’s invention of commercial refrigeration contributed to the UNESCO designation. ■

As we prepare to celebrate James Harrison Day on April 17, we take a look at other efforts to shine a light on Australia’s grandfather of refrigeration.

Model of the compressor, James Harrison’s 1857 ice-making machine, by maker Warwick Bryce.

Photo Graham Hobbs.

Warwick Bryce with his model and Mark Harrison, great grandson of James Harrison, in front of a refrigeration machine made in Humble’s Foundry, Geelong c 1910.

Photo Graham Hobbs

The disc of ice produced by the model in 10 minutes. Harrison’s 1857 machine could produce three tonnes of ice a day.

Photo Graham Hobbs.

2023 AIRAH INDUSTRY NIGHTS

MAR 2 HOBART, TAS

MAR 22 BALLARAT, VIC

MAR 28 DUBBO, NSW

MAY 3 TAMWORTH, NSW

MAY 11 BRISBANE, QLD

MAY 17 MELBOURNE, VIC

MAY 24 DARWIN, NT

JUNE 22 WESTERN SYDNEY, NSW

JULY 27 CENTRAL SYDNEY, NSW

AUG 8 SUNSHINE COAST, QLD

AUG 10 GOLD COAST, QLD

AUG 17 NEWCASTLE, NSW

AUG 22 CAIRNS, QLD

AUG 24 TOWNSVILLE, QLD

SEPT 6 GEELONG, VIC

SEPT 19 CANBERRA, ACT

Explore trades, innovation, and engineering in the HVAC&R industry

OCT 11 ADELAIDE, SA

OCT 19 TOOWOOMBA, QLD

NOV 9 PERTH, WA

AIRAH.ORG.AU/INDUSTRYNIGHTS

1 TRISH TAKES TOP JOB AT AIRAH

Following a detailed recruitment process, the AIRAH Board has appointed Trish Hyde to the role of AIRAH Chief Executive. She replaces Tony Gleeson, M.AIRAH, who announced his impending resignation late last year.

Trish has been CEO of several member-based associations that excelled in member value delivery, including advocacy, and has specific sustainability skills and knowledge, having worked on multiple APAC circular economy initiatives. These include The Plastics Circle, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC), and the Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia.

“This opportunity to lead AIRAH in its next chapter, is a true honour,” she says. “Built on the profession’s record of air control innovation, safety, and sustainability, AIRAH has the ability to help make our world more sustainable. I’m looking forward to working with the Board, the team, stakeholders, and our members on this journey.”

With a particular interest in the built environment and advocacy, Trish is looking forward to promoting the role of HVAC&R in facilitating Australia’s path to net zero emissions.

“The profession has a right to be front and centre in the fight against climate change,” she says. ■

2 DAIKIN’S PLAN TO EXPAND

Daikin Australia has announced plans to expand its manufacturing operations as part of a continued focus on local manufacturing, research and development.

The project, due for completion by June 2024, will see the construction of a new 7,500m² factory to complement the existing factory at Daikin’s Australian headquarters in Chipping Norton, NSW. The new factory will include expanded production areas for packaged air conditioning units, an expanded assembly line for air handling units, additional warehousing for raw materials, and staff training facilities. In addition, a new multi-level carpark will be built for staff and visitors.

“The construction of a second factory will provide new opportunities for our staff and customers, as well as allowing us to increase our local manufacturing capabilities,” says Daikin Australia’s General Manager of Manufacturing Nicholas MacDonald, Affil.AIRAH. “In addition, it will extend our capacity for research and development.”

The project gained support from the NSW government’s Jobs Plus Program, as it is expected to bring 45 new highly skilled jobs and 223 indirect jobs to the state. The government program provides support to businesses across a range of industries that are working to create new jobs in NSW.

Go to www.daikin.com.au ■

3 GOOD CLEAN FUND

Refrigeration and air conditioning apprentices are now eligible for additional financial support thanks to the trade’s reclassification as a “clean energy” job in the updated Australian Apprenticeships Priority List.

As noted on the Support for Australian Apprentices webpage, a full-time Australian apprentice can receive a payment of $2,000 at six,12, 24 and 36 months, and completion; a part-time Australian apprentice can receive $1,000. This payment is to help meet the cost-of-living pressures and to stay in training.

This payment would be received instead of (not in addition to) the Australian Apprentice Training Support Payment, which already offers apprentices in priority occupations similar payments, albeit at lower rates.

Go to shorturl.at/oxDFK ■

4 COOL RUNNINGS

Panasonic has been named as the official air conditioning partner of Supercars for 2023.

Along with joining the championship as the official air conditioning partner, the starting order of each Repco Supercars Championship race will be presented on the Panasonic starting grid on live television broadcasts.

“We are proud to partner with Supercars, a much-loved

Australian motorsport that has a strong history and a longstanding and passionate following,” says Managing Director of Panasonic Australia Paul Reid.

“As the official air conditioning partner of Supercars, we are looking forward to bringing the excitement of Supercars to our business partners and to our loyal customers and can’t wait to share exclusive news and experiences with them. This is a major partnership for us, including advertising, signage, events and hospitality across the Supercars racing season.”

Supercars’ partnership with Panasonic commenced with the first race event of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship, the Thrifty Newcastle 500.

Go to aircon.panasonic.com.au ■

5 MENTORING FOR WOMEN IN TRADES

Charles Darwin University (CDU) has marked International Women’s Day 2023 by announcing the launch of a new Women in Trades mentoring program. The program connects young women commencing their apprenticeships with women working in the NT trades sector.

CDU Careers Centre has partnered with the NT chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction to facilitate the new initiative, and support female apprentices in non-traditional TAFE disciplines such as construction and transport.

“For some women, it can feel a little overwhelming to walk into a predominately male classroom and workplace in industries such as construction, transport, electrotechnology and plumbing,” says CDU Employability Programs Officer Caroline Thompson.

“The goal of the Women in Trades Mentoring Program is to help female students feel confident to engage with their TAFE studies at CDU and also in their workplaces, knowing that they are supported along their journey towards their chosen trade career.

“Their confidence and commitment to the program will ultimately help to increase gender diversity within the future NT trades sector.”

Go to www.cdu.edu.au/study/tafe-trades ■

6 HOMECOMING FOR McCANN

A-Gas has announced the appointment of Louise McCann as Group Commercial Director.

“I am proud to hold the position of Group Commercial Director as we continue our environmental journey,” says McCann. “I am highly encouraged by the dedication of our global commercial teams as we seek to support our customers in fulfilling their sustainability goals through life-cycle refrigerant management.”

McCann joined A-Gas in 2005 and has held a number of roles in the A-Gas business, supporting customers during periods of regulatory change in various regions in line with their corporate commitments. After taking on various roles overseas since 2019, McCann has now returned to Australia to begin her role as Group Commercial Director. She will also lead the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand, leveraging her knowledge and skill-sets across the region.

Go to www.agas.com/au/ ■

7

REFRIGERANT ROADSHOW

Tickets are now on sale for 17 industrysupported refrigerant education events aimed at those working in the stationary HVAC&R sector: the future:gas roadshow.

“A lot of change has emerged in the world of refrigerants since the highly successful future:gas refrigerant seminar roadshows of 2016 and 2017,” say the organisers. “So it’s time for another.”

Running through May, June and July, the 2023 future:gas roadshows will assemble expert speakers to discuss and explain the latest on the recovery and handling of new refrigerants, the laws that will influence each part of the industry, and what this will mean for the day-to-day life of those in the business of handling refrigerants.

Tickets to future:gas seminars in Australia and New Zealand are priced at $20, with the aim

of making it affordable for technicians to pay for their own ticket and for business owners to send a number of their employees.

Also to help as many people as possible to attend, the seminars will take place on weekday evenings during the winter, beginning at 5pm with complimentary welcome drinks, food and trade displays.

Go to futuregas.ac/stationary/ ■

8 A HIT FOR HEALTH

The OzHelp Foundation has announced the launch of a new program aimed at preventing suicide and supporting mental health in the building and construction industry: the Health in Trades program (HiT).

According to OzHelp, nine Australians, on average, die by suicide every day. Of all these deaths, 75 per cent are men, and construction workers are consistently found to die by suicide at a higher rate compared to other male workers.

OzHelp developed the HiT program stream to meet the continually evolving needs of the sector.

“Through data-informed decision-making and targeted interventions tailored to their workers’ needs, employers are looking beyond mental health advocacy and how as an organisation they can practically prevent psychological harm within the workplace,” says OzHelp’s Caz Parish. “We have developed evidence-based, scalable and accessible programs that assist employers in creating resilient, psychological safe workplaces and helping individual employees achieve their best possible mental health and wellbeing.”

Go to www.healthintrades.com.au ■

9 GRANTS UP FOR GRABS

Small and medium businesses across Australia can now apply for grants of up to $25,000 to improve energy efficiency, save on energy bills and bring down emissions.

The grants can be used for a wide range of activities, such as upgrading or replacing existing air conditioners with high-efficiency units, or replacing gas heating boilers with heat pumps.

Other activities supported through the program include energy audits of business sites, and investment in energy-monitoring systems.

Round 1 of the grants offers $16 million of the total $62 million budget for the program. The new grants will be allocated to states and territories based on the distributions of small and medium businesses nationally.

Eligible activities include installing VSDs, retrofitting glass doors on open refrigerated cases, replacing old cases with new highefficiency refrigerated cases, retrofitting EEVs and upgrading insulation on coldrooms.

Applications for the grants will close on April 19, 2023, or when funding is exhausted.

Go to business.gov.au/eegsme ■

10

LOOSE DUCTS COST BUCKS

Clean-Air is promoting the benefits of Aeroseal Duct Sealing technology, including the important role it can play in making buildings more energy efficient. Aeroseal is designed to reduce energy costs by increasing the efficiency of HVAC fans and by eliminating excess ventilation loads.

“Sixty per cent of a building’s HVAC energy goes to its fans,” says Clean-Air’s Jason Stewart. “Studies show that reducing leaks by 15 per cent drops fan requirements by 40 per cent or more – saving thousands of dollars every month.”

Stewart also notes that although some parts of the industry are already enjoying the benefits of Aeroseal, it could be used more widely.

“Early Australian adopters, including design consultants, EEC and commissioning consultants, advocate for this test and seal service because it works,” he says. “But we’re yet to see its full potential capitalised on in the Australian market.”

Go to cleanairaust.com.au/news ■

Name: Renzo Antonio Münster, Stud.AIRAH

Company: PHW Services, Matrix Traffic & Transport Data, and MIR Sydney

Occupation: Engineer

What’s the best thing about working in HVAC&R? The industry is constantly changing due to technological advances. This has allowed people to have more control over their building services.

How long have you worked in the job industry? 15 years, including an Associate Degree and Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering, then training in all three trades of air conditioning and refrigeration, plumbing, and electrical.

What is the biggest thing that has changed about the industry since you started working in it? Manufacturing, quality control and digital technology. The manner in which they’ve all managed to coherently function to provide users with the opportunity to better understand and take control of their grid at home.

If someone wanted to find you on a worksite, they should look for the person who is … In full uniform with tags that stipulate my name and title/position on all my shirts, pants and jackets.

Favourite tool: FLUKE and Kyoritsu electrotechnology instrumentation equipment.

Best on-the-job advice you ever received: Always make sure that you triple-check all your calculations and commissioning prior to rolling live power and releasing refrigerant into the units onsite.

Dream car: Ford F-150 Truck.

Dream holiday: Travelling all around Australia in our Ford F-150 Truck.

Favourite smoko snack: Salad roll with aloe vera drink.

What did you listen to on the way to work today? AC/DC, Credence Clearwater Revival, Def Leppard and Black Sabbath.

Sporting hero: My father Norberto Antonio Münster … Taught me everything I know about the ocean, ice hockey and motorcycles. When I’m not working I’m: Surfing, playing ice hockey or doing motocross with my wife and daughter.

Renzo (centre) with his mentors from Superior Training Centre: Peter McQueen (left) and Chris Jorret (right)

LIGHT TOUCH

There are torches, and then there is the Muyshondt Aeon Mk III.

There is no need to be kept in the dark any longer. What the Muyshondt Aeon Mk III lacks in size it more than compensates for with luminosity. This is one bright, versatile and handily compact torch, wrapped in an appealing titanium package that’s easily storable on your belt.

“Designed to provide power and capability in a highly portable package, our Aeon Electric Torch fits anywhere and goes everywhere in a classic, elegant form,” the company says. “Nearly 15 years of refinement has yielded a design that is well balanced for all general uses.”

The torch is powered by a proprietary Calibre 515 Light Engine, which provides generous runtime off a small MPC-CR2L power cell. Three light intensities are available via a simple, intuitive user interface.

The company says there is more than meets the eye (get it?) with this torch.

To manufacture the torch, 40 individual parts come together in a highly specialised tool, with nearly every part custom made. Electrical contacts are coated in gold to ensure long-term and efficient operation.

This is one well-travelled – and tough – tiny illuminator.

It has withstood immersion in the briny Dead Sea and survived intact an exposed trip 30km above the Earth’s surface to the edge of space. Withering cold, low pressure and cosmic rays –these hinder not the Aeon Mk III’s performance. Of course, there’s a high premium on a top - drawer torch of this calibre – it costs about AUD$940 from shop.muyshondt.net ■

1 A SIGN OF DISTRESS

The people at this shop in York, WA, were wondering why the AC was not working well. Thanks to Arthur for the photos.

Graham says: One the many instances where the owner or leaser of the premises has taken liberties with the equipment for advertising purposes.

2 WHEN THINGS GO SIDEWAYS

Graham sent us another classic window-unit fail.

Graham says: I wonder if it worked for long pushed through the window on its side. There was a story about a mining camp full of mobile accommodation units (dongas) in the ’60s nickel boom, where the units –in the days before splits – were all installed upside-down!

3 YEE HA COWBOYS!

Mark from Melbourne found that some cowboys had corralled these “wild” evap coolers on a gymnasium roof. “Let’s just tie them up here so they don’t blow away,” he says, “and no one will even notice them!”

Graham says: Unfortunately, not the first redundant equipment left on a roof to rot. Once again, cost of removal factors in. Ideally, they would have been removed when the new units were lifted on to the roof. A lot comes down to job planning.

4 BRAIN DRAIN

“Came across this one on a VRF install in Adelaide,” says Luke. “Was tempted to re-use it, being it was that well engineered!”

Graham says: It is a sad situation when we use the ceiling grid to hide such a poor-quality installation. The idea that if it can’t be seen it doesn’t matter, is a blot on many of our industries.

5 SHEET SHOW

Simon spotted this air intake or discharge, which clearly involved a roofer to fix some water ingress issues. “I’m not sure though how the corrugated sheeting on top has affected the airflow of the system,” he says. Graham says: Water leaks on rooftop ducting and penetrations can be a real headache to find and fix. Some buildings go through their entire life-cycle with leaks that haven’t or can’t be fixed, not just on the air conditioning. If it was an intake, I would have thought it would have been installed with some form of weatherproof cover. Maybe the original blew away?

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