Page 8 - Climate Control News Magazine March 2019

News
Code updates available online
THE ONLINE VERSION of the 2019 edition of National Construction Code (NCC), which in- cludes new heating and cooling load limits for residential buildings, will be available this month.
To be adopted from May 1, 2019, the new code includes a range of changes including new con- densation management provisions.
A key feature of NCC 2019 is a lot more perfor- mance based compliance options with the intro- duction of 20 new Verification Methods (Vms).
The commercial building energy efficiency re- quirements, known as Section J, have changed significantly with new VMs for NABERS and Green Star.
Energy efficiency requirements of Section J of the NCC have not been increased since 2010 even though energy prices have increased exponentially.
Due to the number of changes there will be a one year transition period from May 1, during which time, either the NCC 2016 or NCC 2019 re- quirements may be used.
There are about 360 million square metres of floor space in commercial buildings across Aus- tralia consuming some 231 PJ of energy in 2016, accounting for three quarters of total energy con- sumption in commercial industry or nearly 4 per cent of total net energy consumption in Australia.
Therefore, commercial buildings are an impor- tant part of the nation’s energy efficiency policy.
Other changes include new provisions for fire sprinkler systems for apartment buildings and other residential buildings (Class 2 and 3 build- ings) as well as a new non-mandatory VM for fire safety.
Its adoption will be delayed until May 1, 2020 to allow time for training and support.
New and improved acceptable construction practices (ACPs) are included along with improved ACPs for roof and wall cladding.
New and improved acceptable construction practices (ACPs) are included along with im- proved ACPs for roof and wall cladding.
Finally, there are also new requirements for heated water temperature control, cross-connec- tion control and rainwater harvesting and use.
Half day seminars outlining the changes are being held throughout Australia, for dates and details turn to page 26.
A-Gas acquires VEMAC Services
A-GAS HAS ACQUIRED Singapore-based refrigerant company VEMAC Services.
Established in 1978, VEMAC is the market leader in the recovery, reclamation and sales of refrigerants in Singapore and neighbouring countries.
A-Gas Group CEO, Andrew Ambrose said this is an exciting addition to the company's portfolio and will strengthening its global pres- ence in refrigerant recovery and reclamation.
“VEMAC will be an ideal platform for our
further expansion into the South East Asian markets. We are looking forward to investing and growing our environ- mental services offering across these markets with the support of the VEMAC team,” Ambrose said.
VEMAC managing director, Kenny
Huang, said its a great opportunity for
VEMAC to expand further afield and to
utilise A-Gas’ expertise and proven track record in the global refrigerants market.
“Our vision and values are a close fit with A- Gas and we are looking forward to exciting times ahead working within the newly expanded team,” he said.
VEMAC employs approximately 25 people across the business, including in-house engineers and technicians offering specialist recovery and reclamation services on-site. VEMAC are intro- ducing a bespoke refrigerant cleaning service tar- geting energy savings in the HVAC chiller sector.
This is the fourth acquisition of a refrigerants business by A-Gas since the mid-2017 investment in the company by private equity firm KKR.
A-Gas bought the Netherlands- based reclamation business BTC in 2017 and in 2018 acquired the leading supplier of refrigerants to the Europe- an automotive sector Arthur Frie- drichs Kältemittel.
The company also bought USA- based refrigerant reclamation special- ist Diversified Pure Chem in 2017 as
part of a wider global growth plan.
Locally, A-Gas has been busy rolling out its
new refrigerant recovery service, Rapid Recovery. The company has been setting up services in each capital city with trucks and trained tech-
nicians ready to provide support 24x7.
The innovative rapid recovery services sup- port Australia's transition to low GWP fluids under the HFC phasedown which officially be-
gan on January 1, 2018.
LEFT: A-Gas has strengthened its presence in South East Asia with its latest acquisition.
ABOVE: A-Gas CEO, Andrew Ambrose
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