The best of the HVAC&R industry announced

The winners of the Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Airconditioning and Heating (AIRAH) Awards 2015 have been announced.

The awards honour individuals, companies, corporate bodies, institutions and government authorities who have contributed something outstanding to the heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) industry. The 2015 awards recognise a solar-cooling PhD student, an inspiring young engineer, an innovative system of prefabrication, a stunning university campus building, an effective commercial retrofit and more.

Paul Bannister, the director of projects and advisory services at Energy Action, was one of two people presented with the WR Ahern Award for his technical paper ‘What simulation can tell us about building tuning’. The paper looks at how recent advances in building simulation models can help determine the effectiveness of HVAC energy saving strategies.

“I am thrilled to have received this prestigious award from the AIRAH, recognising my technical paper that assessed the methods in which energy savings from HVAC control modifications can be effectively quantified,” said Bannister.

“I am passionate about exploring new ways to generate meaningful energy savings to improve building performance by optimising building controls,” he continued, “and my role at Energy Action provides me with the unique opportunity to undertake this work at some of Australia’s most prominent structures.”

The full list of 2015 AIRAH award winners includes:

• AIRAH Future Leader Award: Chris King, from Bosch
• Student of the Year: Inga Doemland
• Award for Excellence in Innovation: AG Coombs/Lendlease prefabrication approach at Barangaroo
• Award for Excellence in Sustainability: Steensen Varming’s work on the University of Technology Sydney’s Thomas Street Building
• Best HVAC&R Retrofit or Upgrade: Aurecon’s air-conditioning improvements at 175 Eagle St, Brisbane
• Product of the Year: The PlantPro BMS, from Conserve it
• WR Ahern Award: Stefan Jensen and Paul Bannister

“Every year the AIRAH Awards introduce us to people, projects and products that are helping to change the HVAC&R industry — and by extension the built environment, and in fact our lives — for the better,” said AIRAH CEO Phil Wilkinson.

“The 2015 AIRAH Awards winners are no exception. From a field of finalists that was more competitive than ever, a number of impressive and inspiring victors emerged. Congratulations must go to them, but also to all the finalists, who helped make the 2015 AIRAH Awards one of the best ever.”