HVAC&R Building Services

About our industry

Heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) is an essential industry that shapes our cities and towns and impacts daily life in surprising ways.

From big data to passive house builds, it is an industry that offers innovation and opportunities. It also plays a major part in spurring energy efficiency and preventing climate change.

What is HVAC&R?

HVAC&R is a defining feature of our modern existence, but few people outside the industry talk about it. It keeps us comfortable and productive. It even keeps us alive.

Offices, schools, cars, homes, hospitals, shopping centres, restaurants, and even the International Space Station all need good HVAC&R.

In Australia, the industry is worth over $38 billion, uses more than 24% of the country’s electricity, and accounts for around 11.5% of our carbon dioxide emissions.

Applicable to both residential and commercial buildings, HVAC&R refers to the systems used to condition and move air. It includes, but not is limited to, technology that is used to warm/cool spaces.

It consists of:

H | Heating

The transfer of heat through air or water distribution systems. This can be convection-, conduction-, or radiation-based.

Most homes in Australia will need to be heated during the course of a year. Depending on the climate, heating and/or cooling can account for 20 to 50% of energy used in Australian homes.

V | Ventilation

Ventilation is the process of bringing air from outside a building inside, circulating it, and later dissipating it into the environment. One of the easiest and most effective ways to improve the air quality of a building is to control the indoor airflow through ventilation.

Mechanical ventilation offers a controllable, responsive way to provide adequate indoor air quality.

AC | Air conditioning

Once considered a luxury, air conditioning has become an essential facet of everyday living. More than four million Australians use at least one air conditioning unit.

As temperatures are predicted to increase as a result of climate change, air conditioning will be even more prevalent in the coming decades. Today’s cooling innovators and companies are not simply focused on beating the heat. Their technology looks at ways air conditioning can operate as efficiently as possible to reduce the burden on our energy grids and environment.

R | Refrigeration

The world of refrigeration extends far beyond more visible applications such as domestic fridges, ice rinks or supermarket display cabinet chillers. Refrigeration is present in a broad range of sectors. It plays an often-overlooked role in healthcare, energy and the environment.

Its significant contributions to society also underscore its economic importance. In Australia, the refrigeration industry is estimated to contribute about 1.7% to national GDP.

+ | Building services

Buildings provide a safe and healthy environment where people can live, work and become more effective in what they do. The building services industry brings safe, comfortable and efficient buildings to life by applying a blend of scientific, design and engineering principles.

Building services plays an important role in creating an energy-efficient and low-carbon future for us all, with building services engineers taking a whole-of-system approach covering all aspects of the built environment.