Over one hundred people from different sectors of the HVAC Industry attended this informative technical presentation held in North Sydney that focused on how recent changes to Section J of the Building Code of Australia (BCA) have impacted on the building services industry in the last twelve months.

“Clean, Clever, and Competitive” technology is widely recognised as an immediate solution to reducing the impact of HVAC on Greenhouse Gas Emissions that are generated by buildings. Many rating tools have been introduced in an effort to promote high energy efficiency in new “green” building projects in addition to the retrofit of existing buildings where HVAC is concerned.

The changes to Section J of BCA centre on mandatory energy efficiency standards which were introduced in July 2006. This technical presentation was sponsored by Air Change Manufacturing and featured three key speakers.

Firstly, Mr. Alan Obrart, principal of Obrart & Co and senior lecturer and coordinator of the graduate program in building services at Sydney University addressed the audience on:

• Green Star Rating System – a national and voluntary rating system of Green Building Council Australia, where credit points are calculated depending on different energy efficiency categories
• ABGR rating system which allows comparison of actual energy usage of existing buildings
• legal requirements of Section J of the BCA relating to design and installation of new buildings

Following on from Alan, Mr. Ernest Donnelly, consultant to Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) explained future plans of ABCB to introduce Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) requirements to BCA with measurable performance criteria. Whilst these changes are in draft form at present, the impact will be significant on the HVAC industry especially where outdoor air rates are concerned. The other area that will be highly impacted relates to odour and particulate filtration.

Finally, Mr. Herman Chiu, Chief Engineer of Air Change Manufacturing, presented Enthalpy air to air Heat Exchangers as a potential way to significantly reduce energy consumed by outdoor air heating and cooling. The ability of Air Change Equipment to provide high levels of outside air, whilst heating and cooling - with energy efficiency is possible through incorporating Enthalpy air to air Heat Exchangers into their product range. This technology allows Indoor Air Quality to be maintained at a high level with minimal energy. Mr. Chiu also introduced the Selection Software and Pay back Calculator for use with Air Change equipment that will be of value to clients in selecting products and calculating energy savings.

This presentation was the third of a series that continued on the theme of IEQ and impact of changes to Section J of the BCA.