Page 38 - Climate Control News Magazine October 2018

Residential Air Conditioning Feature
High start-up costs
remain a barrier to
solar uptake
AUSTRALIA’S HVACR SECTOR has the ex- pertise to exploit solar heating and cooling tech- nologies but uptake remains low due to high start-up costs, according to AIRAH.
Speaking at AIRAH's Solar Cooling and Heat- ing Forum in Brisbane, AIRAH executive man- ager, Phil Wilkinson, listed a number of barriers to the uptake of solar technology.
“Barriers include high initial costs and split in- centives, a lack of awareness of the benefits, weaknesses in supply chain and workforce com- petitiveness, and perceived technical and finan- cial risks,” he said.
With the right support, Wilkinson said these challenges can be overcome especially with the release of an industry roadmap which was un- veiled at the event.
More than 60 delegates participated in the event where Subbu Sethuvenkatraman unveiled the roadmap known as Promoting the Use of So- lar Cooling and Heating (PUSCH) project.
Supported by the CSIRO, Coolgaia and AI- RAH, the PUSCH project found that despite Australia being a pioneer in solar cooling and
heating, there was still a lot of work to do.
PUSCH recommended devel- oping standard and best-practice designs, a uniform way of meas- uring energy savings, perfor- mance guarantee contracts and large-contract frameworks. This would involve support in the form of energy performance con- tracts (EPCs) and environment upgrade agreements (EUAs).
The need for industry and government sup- port was echoed by Mark Hooper, whose presen- tation on the solar chiller systems at Echuca Re- gional Health was well received.
“The market in Australia is mature, and the business cases stack up,” Hooper said. “But in or- der for solar thermal to grow in stature it needs mechanisms that will help take it from demon- stration to business-as-usual,” he said.
“The Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme and equivalent initiatives need to be opened up to this form of technology, so renewables that
Fraser Property's sustainability development manager, Andrew Thai, delivered the keynote.
contribute to an offset of gas or electrical con- sumption are supported – not just those that produce electricity.”
Fraser Property's sustainability development manager, Andrew Thai, delivered the keynote.
“The key takeaway was that not one company or individual or country will have a solution to the climate challenge. We require a collaborative approach with all stakeholders,” he said. ✺
A smart choice
The Daiseikai range features smart technology from the DC Inverter system to the advanced Plasma Ion Purifier and self-cleaning function.
THE SMART DAISEIKAI Inverter range is about more than air conditioning, ac- cording to John Caione, the business unit manager for residential and light com- mercial products at AHI Carrier Australia.
“In this day and age, we have come to expect products to deliver more than sim- ply their basic functional role,” he said.
And this is exactly the inspiration be- hind the Daiseikai Inverter range.
“Not only do the products in the range come with Toshiba’s leading inverter tech- nology, they also have smart features de- signed to make your life more comfortable by improving the air quality in the home and using clever air filters,” Caione said.
The smart features start with the ad- vanced DC Inverter system.
Designed to use electricity efficiently and effectively, the 2.5kW model has an impressive 5.5 energy star rating.
The Daiseikai range’s smart features are also highlighted with the advanced Plasma Ion Purifier System, which puri- fies the home from dirt and discomfort.
This system keeps the home deodorised and provides a healthier environment by using 10x active purification technology to trap nasty particles.
At the other end of the long list of smart features is a weekly timer remote controller which can program up to four different settings in a day for each day of the week.
As with all Toshiba Air Conditioning products, the range is easy to install, has a natural self-cleaning function, boasts low maintenance requirements and comes with a 5-year warranty, for year-round sat- isfaction and peace of mind.
Now that’s a smart air conditioning range! ✺
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