Sydney, Australia: Australia Institute of Refrigeration, Airconditioning and Heating (AIRAH) has informed that it recently had organised a ‘Humidity Issues in Australian Climates Workshop 2016’, in Sydney. The one-day workshop programme, the announcement said, covered an array of subject areas concerned with designing HVAC systems for humid conditions, including fundamentals of mechanical design, humidity issues in all climates, mechanical design and building envelope design, occupant health and case studies.

The announcement said that after Nathan Groenhout, F.AIRAH, Board Director of AIRAH, welcomed the delegates, Rob Lord, M.AIRAH, Workshop Chair; Mike Palmer, F.AIRAH; Ben Cox, M.AIRAH; Ian Harwood, M.AIRAH and Mark Heath took to the stage for a panel session titled, “The facts speak for themselves”. The announcement added that a broad sweep of subjects, such as health, energy efficiency and restoration after water damage, were covered.

“The Workshop was a bona fide success,” said Tony Gleeson, Affil.AIRAH, CEO of AIRAH. “There was robust technical information presented in a user-friendly manner for our members and the wider HVAC&R industry. It’s what AIRAH does well, and fits in with our aim to grow industry skills and capability for the future.”

The morning and post-lunch sessions, the announcement said, featured presentations from a contingent from the University of Tasmania: Dr Mark Dewsbury, App.AIRAH; Dr Tim Law, Affil.AIRAH and Johann Potgieter. Providing an international regulatory perspective, Dr Dewsbury and Potgieter, the announcement revealed, discussed the developments in built-fabric regulation that have occurred in New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Dr Law, it added, offered a more localised viewpoint, discussing recent experiences of mould and condensation in new houses and commercial buildings in Tasmania, which is not usually associated with humidity issues.

“The Tasmanian contingent provided really top-notch insight,” said Lord. “The trio presented live building research, and also compared Australia’s progress with other countries in the area of condensation – it was a definite highlight of the day.”

Lord said that despite recent efforts, the subject of humidity is not very well understood, and is worthy of greater scrutiny. He explained: “In Australia, we have a lot to do to get on top of this topic. It is broad, and it is confused at the NCC level. And, although DA20 is a good start, there is not a high level of understanding in the broader industry.”

Closing out the day, Peter Barry, M. AIRAH, from BHP Billiton Iron Ore Projects, presented case studies from Port Hedland. Barry, the institute said, addressed the difficulties experienced due to high ambient humidity in the remote region of Western Australia, and the measures used to rectify these issues.

AIRAH informed that The Future of HVAC Conference 2016 is slated to be held from September 7 to 8, 2016, at Queensland University of Technology’s Gardens Point Campus in Brisbane.