AIRAH to develop hvac rating tool

AUSTRALIA: The Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) is behind the development of an online rating tool to designed to reduce energy use in Australian HVAC systems. 

The tool aims to provide a dynamic assessment – capturing both quantitative and qualitative data – to rate, reward and encourage best- practice hvac systems in buildings.

“Hvac systems typically account for around 40-75% of the energy usage in buildings, and usually represent far more than 50% of the potential energy-efficiency improvements that could be made,” commented AIRAH cel Phil Wilkinson. “Calculating Cool will bring particular focus and importance to the performance of a building’s hvac system.”

Managed by Sustainability Victoria, the Calculating Cool project will develop an online calculator to coordinate operation and maintenance practices, including data collection, long-term monitoring and comparative analysis.

“We believe Calculating Cool is a world-leading initiative,” says Wilkinson. “Despite the need being almost universally recognised, there is not another system like this anywhere else.”

Part of AIRAH’s work to progress the federal government’s HVAC High Efficiency System Strategy (HVAC HESS), Calculating Cool will be used to rank different hvac systems, and drive improvements.

A range of industry bodies – AIRAH, the PCA, FMA, AMCA – have been working with government to progress the Calculating Cool project. It is now in the development stage, with trials and public review set for later this year.

Anyone interested in being part of the trial process should email [email protected]