The end of Australian car production by Ford, Holden and Toyota has not resulted in greater uptake of R1234yf refrigerant, according to the latest Cold Hard Facts report commissioned by the Department of the Environment and Energy. Cold Hard Facts (CHF) is a detailed examination of the Australian refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) industry, with the … Continue reading Slow YF uptake increase since end of Aussie car-making
Several studies into efficiently regulating building temperatures while reducing energy use from air-conditioning could have flow-on effects into the automotive and transport refrigeration sectors. Researchers at Columbia Engineering – a top engineering school based in New York – have come up with a way to passively cool buildings. The concept makes use of a thermal … Continue reading Tech that cools with less reliance on air-con could aid automotive
Geelong-based Carbon Revolution, a specialist producer of one-piece carbon-fibre wheels, has announced a $100 million expansion plan. The move, which is backed by substantial investment in manufacturing from the Victorian state government, will create 500 new jobs – tripling the size of the firm’s workforce. The expansion will also substantially increase the company’s production output, … Continue reading Australian carbon fibre wheel specialist expands
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released documentation that clarifies how using independent workshops will not invalidate a car’s manufacturer warranty. In order to help both private customers and businesses alike, the ACCC has published two documents. The first, called ‘Just bought a new car?’, details the precise rights of the consumer. It … Continue reading Car warranty rights clarified
Being able to quickly identify, diagnose and resolve problems is vital for workshops so they can promptly fix the vehicle in question – helping cut downtime and maximise profit. One modern way to alleviate the oft-problematic and time-consuming fault identification and disassembly process is through the use of augmented reality – an approach that has … Continue reading Augmented reality could expedite servicing and training
California has voted to pass a new act that will reduce the use of “super-polluting” HFCs in an effort to cut global warming. The announcement of the new California Cooling Act comes as a great relief to many. Recently, the Trump administration has begun unwinding Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) legislation that aimed to cut the … Continue reading US fight over HFC use rumbles on
Unregulated CFC use threatens ozone recovery The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has confirmed that the long-banned CFC-11, an ozone-depleting chemical, is being used in Chinese industry. The latest report from the EIA, titled Tip of the Iceberg: Implications of Illegal CFC Production and Use, categorically demonstrates that CFC-11 is being employed as a blowing agent … Continue reading Crackdown on illegal CFCs
Although the Paris Agreement that was reached in 2015 marked the beginning of a global effort to limit temperature rise for this century to 2.0°C above pre-industrial levels, with the ideal outcome being 1.5°C, a new report published by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has highlighted the impact of any change beyond this … Continue reading New report delivers stark message on climate change
Renewed call for global ban on disposable cylinders amid rising crime wave AS THE European phase-down of HFCs continues, the trade in illegal refrigerant is booming. This unscrupulous activity, seemingly spurred on by the reduction in the availability of high-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants, is causing all manner of serious issues – ranging from theft … Continue reading Europe mired in illegal refrigerant trade
The Australian Government has announced a new initiative called the Office of Future Transport Technologies (OFTT) that will pave the way for the deployment of autonomous vehicles and other new transport systems in an effort to maximise the benefits offered by such technologies. Michael McCormack, the deputy prime minister and minister for infrastructure, transport and … Continue reading Australian government’s autonomous car push
