Page 8 - Climate Control News Magazine May 2019

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LEFT: Polaris HideAway 10kW unit.
BELOW: Polaris Technologies director, Tony Power.
HideAway units reach Australian shores
SYDNEY-BASED POLARIS TECHNOLOGIES, HAS LAUNCHED A DUCTED AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT BASED ON NATURAL REFRIGERANT ENGAS M60
IN A HYDROCARBON BLEND.
THE FIRST UNITS, which are part of the HideA- way Series, were delivered to Australia in March. Sales have already begun, and the first instal- lations were made that same month, in Mel-
bourne and Sydney.
The Polaris HideAway series of air condition-
ers are ducted packaged units that do not re- quire a separate outdoor unit, according to the company's director, Tony Power.
“This opens new possibilities for designers and architects who can now dispense with unsightly exterior units,” Power said.
The refrigerant used is engas M60, a special purpose hydrocarbon refrigerant blend specifi- callydesignedtoreplaceR410A.Propaneisits primary ingredient.
“The 3.5 kW unit is only 300mm high. Archi- tects love that,” Power said.
The air conditioners had been under develop- ment for over five years. Early prototypes used R410A, but these did not meet Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) that are manda- tory in Australia and New Zealand.
“The hydrocarbon refrigerants are the only reason the Polaris HideAway systems were capa- ble of passing MEPS,” he said.
Power is optimistic that choosing natural refrig-
erants will help the compa- ny to market the new units.
“We see big opportuni- ties for this [product],” he said, citing early interest from large healthcare groups and developers.
“We’re currently setting
up agents across Austral-
ia and are open to new distributors, including in territories outside Australia.
“We saw an opportunity to build a cyclone- proof unit – there was strong interest immedi- ately from Fiji, for exactly that reason,” he said.
Power said customers are attracted to the hy- drocarbon-based system because it helps them to qualify for Greenstar certification from the Green Building Council of Australia.
Baby Cube is built for comfort
DEAKIN ENGINEERING RESEARCHERS
have developed what might be the cutest and most convenient method of monitoring physi- cal comfort levels in an office with their Deakin Cube Comfort Monitor.
Affectionately named the Baby Cube, the Cube Comfort Monitor is a small box, ideally sized to sit unobtrusively on an office desk, con- taining a series of small sensors for tracking temperature, humidity, air quality (CO2 and
Professor Abbas Kouzani (left) and researcher Scott Adams (right) with the Deakin Cube Comfort Monitor
Total Volatile Organic Compounds levels), light intensity, light temperature and sound levels.
This data, collected in real time, is available for immediate analysis via a cloud-based web server, giving building managers accurate and timely feedback about comfort levels, such as hot and cold spots in an office, optimum light- ing, noise issues and air quality.
Researchers in Deakin’s School of Engineer- ing believe the Baby Cube has the potential to vastly improve the management of building re- sources, particularly energy systems, by mak- ing it easier to identify areas in the office where comfort levels are less than ideal or even dan- gerous to people’s health.
Scott Adams, a researcher with Deakin’s AIM team, said the idea for the Baby Cube came during this year’s January heatwave.
“We wanted to know how temperatures and humidity levels fluctuated during that time to help us manage our cooling systems more effi- ciently,” Adams said.
“Contemporary office buildings generally
have in-built monitoring systems but that’s less common in older buildings so there is a real need to improve how we monitor work- place comfort in older buildings, ensuring the heating and air conditioning systems are working effectively, that lighting is not too bright or too dull and that the room is not too stuffy or noisy.
“The Cube Comfort Monitor can vary in size from individual desktop cubes to miniaturized whole-of-office systems that sit in the corner of a room. It is a low-cost way of collecting data that will help building managers monitor what’s happening in any office, or part of that office.”
The Baby Cube research team led by Profes- sor Abbas Kouzani said the cube was a good ex- ample of how the Internet of Things (IoT) can be used to improve daily life and improve health and wellness.
The team is now looking at testing the Cube Comfort Monitor at 15 sites across Deakin, with the aim of commercialising the product later in the year.
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