Around the Nation 1
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DUCTWORK DOCTORS
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product development and commercialisation capabilities for our major retail partners.” The federal government has a focus on recycling, and has indicated that it will be investing in this area.
Clean-Air Aust has completed a project to seal leaks in the air conditioning ductwork at a Queensland Health Hospital.
“It’s an initiative we couldn’t be more excited about as we continue to work towards a circular economy by 2025,” says Brady.
The hospital system consisted of four AHUs supplying air (11,700L/s) to ground and first floor areas including oral health, cancer care, procedure rooms, administration and critical storage.
Go to buildtuff.com.au
“Our aim was to circumvent any disruption to critical services being provided to patients by using Aeroseal technology to seal the ductwork from the inside,” says Project Manager Muni Kumar, “with a target to achieve a 40 per cent reduction of air loss in the system.”
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The project took less than three weeks to complete, and avoided a teardown of the whole HVAC system. According to the project team, before using Aeroseal, leakage rates were 4,091L/s. Afterwards they were just 263L/s, meaning that overall duct leakage had been reduced by 90 per cent. They say that the facility can now run its HVAC system at a fraction of the power that was previously needed, saving substantially on its energy costs.
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“Since many of our customers don’t have dedicated strategic advisors focused on the full life-cycle of their business and marketing plans, they are unsure if what they are doing is actually working. We are excited to award this prize package to help them figure that out and give them a customised plan designed to help their businesses grow and thrive.” Go to www.simprogroup.com/business-toolkit
Resitech specialises in providing recycling solutions to the plastics industry via waste collection. In partnership with Buildtuff, it is aiming to create a safe and reliable supply partner to wholesalers and tradespeople. It also hopes to address some of the current supply chain issues.
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HVAC&R News
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www.airah.org.au/hvacrnews
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VALE WARWICK STANNUS
Long-time industry stalwart Warwick Stannus, M.AIRAH, passed away on Sunday, April 24.
“I believe this creates supply sovereignty via our vertically integrated closed-loop recycling program, safeguarding Australian jobs and re‑shoring manufacturing from China,” says BuildTuff General Manager Alan Brady. “This enables us to further strengthen our
Boasting a strong background in both consulting and contracting in the HVAC&R industry, Stannus is recognised for his work in developing industry standards and his 19-year career at A.G. Coombs. |
June–July 2022
He started working at A.G. Coombs in 2003 in the newly created role of Group Engineering Manager, and was instrumental in the development of Independent Commissioning Agent services in many early Green Star projects in Australia. He was a driving force behind A.G. Coombs’ work in large-scale offsite prefabrication of building services. Stannus was also a primary instigator of the world‑leading BIM-MEPAUS initiative, which has digitised the design and delivery of building services in Australia. He has been recognised for his work over many years in developing innovative industry practices, and was a frequent contributor to industry journals and magazines. In 2021, Stannus was awarded the Air conditioning and Mechanical Contractors Association’s (AMCA) Distinguished Service Award. As a committed individual who shared ideas and drove industry development, he will be sorely missed within the industry. ■
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LOOKING TO THE STARS
There is still no word on whether the National Construction Code 2022 will raise the minimum energy efficiency standard for new homes from 6 to 7 NatHERS stars. An NCC 2022 preview was released in May, but it did not include energy efficiency and condensation management provisions. These are expected to be previewed in August, before the NCC 2022 comes into effect in September.
“At simPRO, we are committed to helping our customers and potential customers to build and scale their businesses.” says Marketing Manager for Australia Paul Buckwell.
BuildTuff, a new market supplier for equipment bases, and Polybender pair coil copper bender have become sister companies to Resitech, the country’s largest recycler of post-industrial waste.
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GROWTH PACKAGES UP FOR GRABS
To enter, business owners must fill out an entry form and include a narrative of 50 words or less about their biggest business pain points. They must also sign up for a simPRO demo and receive a customised quote.
BUILDTUFF CLOSING THE LOOP
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Field service software specialist simPRO has launched a competition with two $20,000 business growth packages up for grabs. Along with PROTRADE and Your Marketing Machines, simPRO will reward two winners with an “Ultimate Growth Toolkit” which includes a leadership mastery course, a customised marketing plan, a digital advertising package and free simPRO software and training valued at $20,000. The promotion is open to Australian business owners in the trade services industry and runs until June 30.
Before that work could start, however, Aeroseal needed Australian-recognised fire safety certification. Clean-Air duly carried out testing of the product and passed certification for smoke generation in accordance with AS/NZS 1530.3:1999.
Go to aerosealductsealing.com.au
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State, territory and federal building ministers are due to meet in July to discuss the changes. And industry bodies are calling for a commitment to higher standards. “Australian home energy efficiency currently lags behind international best practice, and it rates among the world’s worst performing developed countries,” says Climateworks. “This means Australians are missing out on safer, more comfortable homes made possible through better insulation and more efficient heating and cooling.” The potential savings of more efficient homes have also been highlighted in a Climate Council report. It found that living in a 7 star, all-electric house in any capital city in Australia would save occupants on average $450 per year on heating and cooling costs compared to the current building standard of 6 stars. Go to: bit.ly/3LvsSuO
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