Page 10 - Climate Control News Magazine Feb 2020

News
Low interest loans for energy efficient air conditioning
THE CLEAN ENERGY Finance Corporation (CEFC) has announced plans for home loans with discounted interest rates for residents that utilise solar, energy efficient air conditioning and hot water systems.
The plans were revealed when CEFC an- nounced a new green home loan last month to spearhead the construction of market leading, energy efficient housing.
Bank Australia is the first home loan provid- er to take up the CEFC finance, which will de- liver discounted interest rates to qualifying builders and home buyers.
The new Bank Australia Clean Energy Home Loan, offering eligible borrowers a 0.4 per cent dis- count on their home finance, will be the first Aus- tralian green home loan to use energy efficiency measurement tools to determine eligibility.
The discounted rate will apply for up to five years for customers who buy or build homes which achieve a minimum of 7-stars under the Nation- wide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS).
CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said the loans will fill a gap in the market, giving builders and new home buyers a financial incentive to adopt sustainable design principles from the start of the project.
“Australians are already leading the world in residential rooftop solar. Our next challenge is to embrace better building design and construction methods, as well as energy efficiency, to cut our energy use and reduce our emissions,” he said.
The Bank Australia Clean Energy Home will draw on up to $60 million in CEFC finance, provid- ing the interest rate discount via its Premium Pack- age Home Loan to mortgages below $1.5 million.
Over time, Bank Australia will extend the benefits of the Clean Energy Home Loan to ex- isting homes, to finance ambitious green home improvements, such as energy monitoring and energy storage systems, solar hot water and en- ergy efficient air conditioning.
The property sector accounts for about 23 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emis- sions, with about half of those emissions com-
ing from residential buildings .
Bank Australia managing director, Damien Walsh, said Australia needed more sustainably designed and built
homes to reduce emissions.
LEFT: CEFC CEO, Ian Learmonth; Bank Australia managing director, Damien Walsh.
ABOVE: The green home loan will fill a gap in the market giving builders and new home buyers a financial incentive to adopt sustainable design principles.
CLIMATECONTROLNEWS.COM.AU
Oomiak embarks on expansion in Asian market
AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL REFRIG- ERATION leader Oomiak has embarked on an international expansion targeting the Asian market.
The Adelaide-based company, which specialises in the design and installa- tion of industrial refrigeration, has opened a Malaysian office in Kuala Lum- pur in response to growing demand from South East Asia.
Oomiak CEO, Cate McGuire, said the company is excited to spread its wings on the global stage having consolidated a national presence throughout Australia.
“We’ve experi- enced a significant increase in demand from the Asian mar- ket for high quality industrial refrigera- tion systems, so opening an office in the region is a logical step forward,” she said.
Oomiak CEO, Cate McGuire.
“The Asian market has a rapidly grow- ing appetite for fresh fruit and vegeta- bles, and with that comes the need to ad- equately cool and store produce to ensure it maintains maximum freshness for cus- tomers.
“We see enormous growth in the re- gion over the next decade, so this is a re- ally exciting move for us that is testa- ment to the high quality benchmarks we’ve put in place.”
Since it was established in 2006, Oomi- ak has set up customer service centres in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, and now Kuala Lumpur.
Oomiak also specialises in preventa- tive maintenance of all types of refrigera- tion systems to help clients maximise op- erational efficiencies and plant life expectancy, while minimising unplanned outages and plant operating costs.
Employing 60 staff across the Asia Pa- cific, Oomiak currently turns over more than $20 million a year, servicing a broad range of clients across various industries, including fresh produce, food processing, supermarkets, marine, dairy, wine, cold storage, mining and manufacturing.
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