This report presents a summary of the findings and activities of Stage 3 of the LCL-CRC research project RP 1033 “High Performance Commercial Building HVAC”.

Conventionally in building performance simulations (BPS), it is assumed that air entering outdoor HVAC equipment is at the outdoor ‘ambient’ temperature, obtained from a weather file. However, significant spatial variations exist in outdoor air temperature fields, especially within the thermal boundary layers that form near...

This paper explores the potential for solar thermal cooling to succeed commercially, and more specifically, the application scenarios where this is most likely. This mainly philosophical contribution hopes to highlight directions for future research.

Solar airconditioning is an emerging renewable energy technology that is technically proven and suitable for wide scale deployment. Unfortunately, solar airconditioning cannot compete on a level playing field with other renewable energy technologies because it is not eligible for government rebates such as those awarded...

The Performance Requirements of the National Construction Code (NCC) can be met using either a Performance Solution or a Deemed-to-Satisfy (DtS) Solution or a combination of both solutions. The following demonstrates the performance based design process that should be used in conjunction with the Development...

The Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) and the former Australian Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA) developed this Handbook to assist users with the application and understanding of the National Construction Code (NCC) Volume One energy efficiency provisions.

This study analysed over 1.8 million measurements of air conditioner power consumption and indoor/outdoor air temperatures in 129 houses in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne from 2012 to 2014. It was found that the preferred indoor air temperature range, at which occupants are most unlikely to...

Beyond expensive building and equipment upgrades and retrofits, re-commissioning (analogous to performing a comprehensive tune-up on your car) and automated fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) for building systems offer significant energy efficiency opportunities in commercial buildings.

The rapid adoption of reverse-cycle vapour-compression air-conditioning systems in residential buildings has produced an escalation in both total and peak electricity demand, necessitating a high level of investment in electricity infrastructure, and raising concerns over energy security and environmental issues. To address these issues, solar...

To combat increasing electricity prices due to the high operating costs of conventional reverse cycle air-airheat pumps (RC-AA-HP), they can be powered by standalone PV systems as a radical demand side energy management solution. However, the heavy power consumption of their compressors necessitates very large...