DRAWDOWN HVACR?

A couple of us at work (me and Mark Vender) have been inspired to approach Paul Hawken and the Drawdown team to propose a global cross-disciplinary HVACR approach to the #1 Project Drawdown activity- Refrigerant Management (along with emissions from energy use).

We will be searching out fearless collaborators to be involved with skills, superpowers, and passion to help make change happen.

Below is our initial pitch about "why" - this has been well recieved and we are now working on the "what" we want to achieve. We will have a first stab at this and get initial feedback from the DRAWDOWN team, and then would really value your input. Heres to an amazing journey... 

Why we should apply Drawdown to a sector – and why that sector should be HVAC&R

Raising the profile of an invisible giant

A lot of people were surprised when refrigerants popped up as the number one solution to global warming in Drawdown. One of the side-effects has been to raise the profile of what is usually an invisible industry: HVAC&R. It could be useful to reinforce this by making HVAC&R a test case for using a sectoral Drawdown model. And what better sector to start with, given that it includes the number one way of addressing global warming, and is set to expand greatly until the Drawdown date of 2050?

Overcoming geographical boundaries

In Australia, the operation of refrigeration and air conditioning systems consumes about 23 per cent of all the electricity generated in Australia, and is responsible for more than 12.5 per cent of Australian total national emissions. Indirect emissions of HVAC&R systems typically represent 90 per cent or more of total emissions so it is clear that HVAC&R energy consumption has a significant sustainability impact.

Note that we do not have these figures for the rest of the world, and part of the reason for this is that the worldwide industry is fragmented. ASHRAE and approx. 60 other HVAC&R associations are trying to formalise a collective strategic structure to focus on global issues, but this is slow, top heavy, and will be a compromise at best. The Drawdown model could help galvanise these efforts and provide a way of gathering global information. It would also help surface and share stories that could help make the sector more sustainable.

A sectoral approach to HVAC&R can bust through industry silos

HVAC&R has sustainability impacts in terms of energy consumption, water consumption, indoor environment quality, and refrigerant-related atmospheric changes, all of which are inter-related.

HVAC&R plays a part in almost every other industry. It affects everything from keeping our food fresh, to enabling health and digital infrastructures, to the design and maintenance of high-performing buildings and the industrial and commercial refrigeration services used in manufacturing, production and agriculture.

The cross-industry nature of HVAC&R could provide a valuable lens through which to view the Drawdown challenge.

Encouraging behavioural change

In the residential and commercial building sectors, HVAC has created a culture where builders can design and construct poor thermally performing buildings that are then propped up with air conditioning.

In the residential sector (paraphrasing Elizabeth Shove) this has led to houses without eaves, verandas etc. This has the social impact of disconnecting people from nature and their immediate neighbours. Both of these aspects are critical for a person’s wellbeing. Also we are seeing a tendency to a tight set of design requirements for “comfort” no matter where a building is being built.

The Drawdown model seems to have the sophistication to capture some of these other effects of the HVAC&R sector – and could point a way forwards.

Why AIRAH?

The Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH) works with a broad range of government and industry stakeholders. The Institute has been very involved with the development of the Australian Sustainability Built Environment Council (ASBEC) Low Carbon High Performance report, and we support its recommendations.

AIRAH is also the driving force behind PRIME, the Australian HVAC&R industry’s blueprint for a successful transition to a low-emissions future through Professionalism, Regulation, Information, Measurement and Emission abatement. www.primehvacr.com.au.

Personal background

Phil - I’m a mechanical engineer whose cardigan didn’t fit. I have a strong social and moral compass about doing the right thing. I’m a passionate supporter of what HVAC&R enables and I’m good at putting great people together to do great things. I’ve been through a number of failures in addressing industry emission reductions and have been a deep, systematic thinker on the issues for over 15 years. We need to accelerate progress on the emissions reduction issue and I believe Drawdown could be a means of doing that.

Mark - I've been inspired by the possibilities of the Drawdown project and the energy of the people behind it. I'm a stories person too, and I'm betting we can unearth some amazing stories in the HVAC&R space.

Ecolibirum interview with Paul Hawken

Check out the interview we were lucky enough to have with Paul just after he leaf Australia earlier this year. Great wordsmithing by my colleague Mark Vender, and so generous of Paul. A Plan for Humanity

Your thoughts?

We would love to hear your thoughts on this?

Cheers

Phil and Mark