Around the nation
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highlighting the word “Restrictions Apply” in red font
and will apply to participants in abbreviated Certificate
II courses.
40m² room. A gas room heater came in at $250, while
the cheap and ubiquitous plug-in electric oil heater
was more than three times as much at $825.
“This is being done to emphasise that the licence
holder is qualified to provide specific services under
that licence,” says ARC. “The entitlements of the licence
will continue to be listed on the card.”
Sustainability Victoria CEO Stan Krpan says there’s a
number of simple ways to help reduce heating costs.
In the case of the Restricted Split Systems Installation
and Decommissioning licence, this would be:
RESTRICTED SPLIT SYSTEMS (1): Install/decommission
Split Systems, Hot Water & Swimming Pool Heat
Pumps up to 18KW (Must not repair).
“This modification will provide an added level of
transparency for consumers, and clarity for licensed
technicians around what they can and can’t do as
holders of a specific ARCTick licence,” says ARC. n
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HEATING EFFICIENCY
BATTLE HEATS UP
Sustainability Victoria has published a new report
suggesting that gas boilers circulating hot water
through radiator panels are the cheapest and most
energy efficient form of home heating.
The report provided a direct comparison between gas
and electric heating systems for heating a house or
just one room. Based on an average five months at six
hours a day, the data suggested that heating a house
up to about 170m² via gas-fired hydronics costs $915
per year. Next best was gas-ducted heating, which
costs $970. Ducted reverse-cycle air conditioning was
the best of two electric options at $1120 per year.
Least cost-effective options were heated slabs,
estimated to cost $1400 per year. However, electricity
rated strongly in single-room heating, with a reverse
cycle air conditioner costing $230 per year to heat a
“Some simple and quick tips to save on energy include
closing doors to areas of your home that you are not
using, wearing warmer clothing, using the thermostat
correctly and turning off your heater overnight,” says
Krpan. “A small fan heater may be cheap to purchase
but will end up costing you in the long run. When
purchasing a new heater, check the energy rating
labels. The more stars, the more efficient the unit and
the lower its running costs will be. Super-efficient
models can have a rating of 7 to 10 stars.” n
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HOT ACs
RECALLED
Several leading Australian retailers have been forced to
recall a number of Dimplex portable air conditioners
after overheating concerns were discovered.
The models in question are the GDC18RWA and
GDC18RBA, manufactured in 2009. The units were
sold throughout Australia by 16 retailers including
Harvey Norman, Good Guys, Betta Electrical, Bi
Rite, Retravision, Radio Rentals, Clive Peeters, Clive
Anthonys, Domayne, Joyce Mayne, Kambos, Porters,
Rick Hart, AGL and Origin Energy.
The affected serial numbers are 93800001-93801000,
94000001-94001068, 94600001-94601750 and
95000001-95001068.
If used for an extended duration there is the potential
for motor capacitors in the units to overheat, with the
potential to ignite and cause fire damage.
If you own or know of anyone that uses the unit,
contact Glen