AIRAH has announced the finalists for the 2024 AIRAH Awards, celebrating outstanding achievements from across Australia’s HVAC&R building services industry. Each finalist has been selected by an independent panel of industry judges.
Finalists
Best HVAC Retrofit or Upgrade
- Goondiwindi HVAC Upgrade, NRG Services: This project is a testament to NRG Services commitment to delivering high quality services in healthcare infrastructure and HVAC and medical gas systems.
- Regis Blackburn – Ventilation upgrades, Regis Age Care PTY: Regis Blackburn faced challenges with limited fresh air and increasing odours in various wings, and installed heat-recovery ventilation units to enhance ventilation without significant energy penalties.
Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion
- CFM Air Conditioning: CFM Air Conditioning strives to foster an environment where all employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute to the company’s success.
- SP&R Group: The SP&R Group is dedicated to inclusivity and support for women in construction, creating vital opportunities for women in trades and internal development programs.
Excellence in Sustainability
- Birchgrove House (Wurrungwuri), CWL Group: CWL Group was engaged to design and construct a sustainable solution that would create a connection to Sydney Harbour and bring commercial practices to a residential scale.
- Canberra in Electrifying, Engineered Solutions for Building Sustainability – ESBS: During 2023/24, ESBS was heavily involved with the ACT government, University of Canberra and other clients for electrification of existing buildings. The project scope included investigations, detailed feasibility studies, developing optimised solutions, life-cycle analysis, development of strategic staging plans, detailed design, and project management.
- Sydney Airport International Terminal T1 Chilled Water Plant Optimisation, A.G. Coombs and Exergenics: The Chilled Water Plant Optimisation project at Sydney Airport involved using the latest machine learning and simulation techniques to improve the control logic of the Terminal 1 chiller plant and secondary pumping system.
- Woolworths Metro Gadsden CO2 WaterLoop system, Woolworths: The Gadsden West Melbourne development, incorporating the facade of a historic tin smithing and canning factory, features a Woolworths Metro convenience store with 630m2 of trading area.
Excellence in HVAC&R Research
- Accelerating solar and thermal energy storage for HVAC decarbonisation, University of Wollongong: This initiative is the development of innovative solutions to advance solar energy and thermal energy storage in HVAC systems for decarbonising the heating and cooling of buildings. It delivered innovative HVAC systems and solutions.
Excellence in Innovation
- Prefabulous, Air Engineers: During the construction of the mechanical services for the new Woolworths supermarket located at Caulfield South, Air Engineers re-invented the conventional supermarket and the services riser, providing safer construction processes for all stakeholders and personnel involved.
- Sydney Airport International Terminal T1 Chilled Water Plant Optimisation, A.G Coombs and Exergenics: The Chilled Water Plant Optimisation project at Sydney Airport involved using the latest machine learning and simulation techniques to improve the control logic of the Terminal 1 chiller plant and secondary pumping system.
- Temperzone Service Tools app, Temperzone: The Temperzone Service Tool App is an app designed to provide technicians with Temperzone product expertise and assist the diagnosis and commissioning of any air conditioning system.
- Woolworths Metro Gadsden CO2 WaterLoop system, Woolworths: The Gadsden West Melbourne development, incorporating the facade of a historic tin smithing and canning factory, features a Woolworths Metro convenience store with 630m2 of trading area.
Excellence in Refrigeration
- 1,000kW Ammonia Heat Pump, Kilcoy Global Foods: This project recovers low-grade heat from the plant’s existing ammonia refrigeration system to significantly reduce natural gas used to generate process hot water at the site.
- Simplot Devonport Freezer tunnels and refrigeration plant room, Degree C: Degree C installed a 4.2MW two-stage refrigeration system purpose built to refrigerate two linear freezer tunnels for vegetables at -44 degrees SST. The refrigeration system incorporates energy saving, heat claim capability and maintenance friendly features.
- Woolworths Metro Gadsden CO2 WaterLoop system, Woolworths: The Gadsden West Melbourne development, incorporating the facade of a historic tin smithing and canning factory, features a Woolworths Metro convenience store with 630m2 of trading area.
- SuperTest Testing and Validation Services, SuperCool Group: SuperTest is Australasia’s only purpose-built, NATA-accredited testing facility for stationary and mobile HVAC&R systems. SuperTest recently constructed a unique new test chamber designed for testing refrigerated display and storage cabinets, which is accredited by NATA in accordance with ISO 23953-2.
Future Leader
- Bilal Babadagi, M.AIRAH
- Sean Reed, Affil.AIRAH
Student of the Year – Trade
- Jordan Hocking, Stud.AIRAH
- Skye O’Keefe, Stud.AIRAH
Student of the Year – Higher Education or Research
- Poorya Shaghaghi, Stud.AIRAH
- Sonali Deshmusk, Stud.AIRAH
WR Ahern Award
- Disaggregation of precipitation data applicable for climateaware planning in built environments – David Ferrari, M.AIRAH and Trevor Lee, Affil.AIRAH et al
- Developing a framework for delivering quality towards a sustainable built form future – Peter Phillips, F.AIRAH
- Striking a balance: planning and implementation considerations for natural gas removal – Simon Witts, M.AIRAH et al
- Semiconductor heat pumps – a new approach to zero emissions heating – Amnon Holland, M.AIRAH
The black-tie gala dinner and awards presentation will be held at the Crown Aviary Melbourne on Thursday, November 21. For more information and to register, visit the AIRAH Awards website.
