Winter is here, and nobody is more aware of that than Australians with a struggling reverse cycle air conditioner (RVAC). If your system isn’t keeping you warm, here’s what to do to get it humming.

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I know it sounds like clickbait, but honestly, there is one simple trick that will help your refrigerative air conditioner cope with very hot days.

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Air conditioners sold in Australia need to meet minimum efficiency standards, but not minimum “smarts”. This should change says a new report from IEEFA. Here’s why. [Read more…]

From July next year, certain air-conditioner types newly installed or connected in South Australia will need to meet demand response capability requirements. [Read more…]

The best way to heat your home is with a reverse cycle air conditioner.  This is true whether your goal is to save money or save the planet.  In this article, I’ll explain no matter how crap your air conditioner is, you’re likely to be financially better off using it for heat instead of gas. [Read more…]

New aircon energy rating labels! Are you excited? You should be…

The most energy-efficient and cost-effective way to heat your home is to use your reverse-cycle air conditioner.  Even the least efficient aircon uses far less energy than electric resistance heating.  But buying the least efficient air conditioner is a bad idea.  You’ll be better off with a highly efficient one — or at least the most efficient one that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. [Read more…]

A big problem with ducted air-conditioning is the ducts compromise the thermal envelope of the room, wasting precious energy. A new Australian invention solves that problem.

An asthma attack following a child’s night-time popcorn mishap set Adelaide engineer Dean McGurgan wondering why, in his ducted-aircon-equipped home, he even copped smoke exposure all the way from the kitchen to the bedroom.

And that set him on a development project he reckons could save money for others with ducted air-conditioning. [Read more…]

With a smart 3rd party controller, your air conditioner can help a solar-laden grid balance supply and demand.

While regulators fret about the impact of solar power on low voltage distribution networks, developers are looking at ways to use household loads to relieve the stress.

Last week, I chatted to an NZ-founded company called Paladin, whose focus over the last four or five years has been a controller that diverts excess power from PV to a customer’s electric hot water service. [Read more…]