April 2009

Grant's Blog Is the world catching on? I can remember the arguments around us trying to get the 3C mentioned (as a water efficient alternative to traditional towers) in a Sydney Water document. Eventually we got a token mention. Prior to Muller making its song and dance about water, water in cooling towers wasn't a design parameter – it has only been in the last few years that we have got this issue above the radar. Persistence pays! Although there is now a high level of awareness, actions have lagged because of the unrealistically low price of water – but this is all about to change. This week, it was announced Victorian water prices will increase by more than 60% over the next four years. To measure the cost of this, visit our website and play around with our water usage estimator. Although the price will skyrocket, the issue I believe will be whether or not the community supports the use of our most valuable resource in cooling towers. Read more...
5 Stars for Melbourne Uni Melbourne University's new Faculty of Economics and Commerce building located at 198 Berkley Street is the first academic building to have been awarded a 5 Star Green Star Education Pilot Rating by the Green Building Council of Australia. The 12-storey building integrates the University's education requirements with state-of-the-art environmentally sustainable design and building services initiatives to deliver carbon reductions of 73 per cent and water use reductions of up to 90% compared to a conventional educational building of the same size and use; based on current modeling. Read more...
3C to cool production of A380 Muller Industries is pleased to announce that its Australian designed 3C system has been chosen by Airbus, one of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers, to cool part of its plant at Toulouse in the south of France. Notably, the company's Toulouse plant is home of the world's largest airliner, the A380. This contract was won by Jacir Air Traitement, who will oversee the delivery and installation of the 3C into several production units at Toulouse. Read more...
Birmingham's 2009 RAC Expo Following on from the successful launch of its SH09 series at February's 2009 AHR Expo in Chicago, Grant Hall made the trip to Birmingham in the UK to present at this year's Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Expo. The 2009 RAC Expo was held at Birmingham's National Exhibition Centre in late February. Introducing the audience to alternative heat rejection systems, Hall explained that in small and medium installations, there is a growing trend away from the use of traditional cooling towers and evaporative condensers; with a number of factors needing to be considered when selecting the appropriate system such as environmental impact, energy efficiency and health risks. Read more...
Estimate your water usage Late last year, Muller Industries released its Water Usage Estimator which has since proven to be a valuable tool for both consultants and end users. The tool was developed by Robert de Jong of ISECO Consulting, and software developer Rick Cairns. "Essentially the estimator compares the relative water consumption of the 3C system against that of equivalent cooling towers, in many of Australia's capital cities," explained de Jong. Read more...