A new study has raised doubts the world has enough mineable copper to sustain the demands of both human development and the green economy. The report by the Society of Economic Geologists points out there’s “unavoidable conflict between the copper demands of electrification and achieving equitable living standards for the developing world.” They came to […]
Copper Cuts Climate Emissions
The carbon payback for additional copper ‘invested’ into improving energy efficiency is earned back 20 to 300 times over the lifetime of an energy system says a new European report. And for renewables, the carbon emissions for producing copper is earned back in a matter of 1 to 2 weeks. Increasing the cross section of […]
Has Green Fatigue Set In?
A new study says two thirds of consumers know how to make sustainable energy choices, but won’t spend the time or money to do it. Really? The snapshot from Ernst Young (EY) calls this “consumer fatigue”. They found households—and they asked 100K of them—are keen on clean energy and know quite a bit about it, […]
Copper Cuts Carbon Emissions in Buildings
Copper is getting a reputation as a “green” metal, but a new study is suggesting it can also help reduce carbon emissions in the construction industry. That’s big news. The building and construction sector globally accounts for roughly 40% of energy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions a year, while manufacturing building materials and construction are […]
Fit To Burst—How To Avoid Frozen Pipes
Each winter many building suffer loss of their water supply due to freezing or burst pipes but plumbers and builders can take some simple steps to avoid the resultant damage, costs and inconvenience. Why do pipes burst? When water cools it increases in density until it reaches 4°C. That is, it occupies its lowest volume […]
Should Your Plumbing Go Online?
I must admit I used to be skeptical that people would embrace smart home plumbing, but no longer. One of the biggest changes is that costs have fallen dramatically, but the other is the range of products & ease of installation as a recent CNET article outlined. Nearly every part of your home’s plumbing can […]
Evolution of the Plumbing Industry – you can never stop learning
Nothing stands still and plumbing is no exception says John Fennell. We live in an ever changing world where we must continually improve, and look for smarter and better ways to do things. Plumbing is no exception as products and regulations constantly get modified and updated, and it’s crucial that we stay on top of […]
Saving An Australian Home From Fire
Angus Holmes knows fires. He worked for Fire Rescue NSW for 33 years-the last 14 years as Station Commander-but says the bushfire that threatened his home on January 4 was “the worst I have ever experienced.“ Recently retired, Angus lives with his wife in a bushland locality called Woodburn about 6 kms from Ulladulla on […]
Creating Easier and Risk-free solutions for plumbers
IS A KEY FOCUS FOR MM KEMBLA AS A LEADING MANUFACTURER AND SUPPLIER AND THE RELEASE OF THE NEW KPL3 PRESS TOOL DOES JUST THAT, SAYS MM KEMBLA MARKETING MANAGER FELIX VELASCO. In 2012, MM Kembla released its copper press-fit connection system KemPress. The benefits of press-fit systems particularly in copper have led to quicker […]
Cool Copper
The Australian copper industry has developed a new range of tubes to handle large scale refrigeration. The addition of transcritical CO2 refrigerant systems for large scale refrigeration applications, initially for freezers in retail food outlets, requires tubes of higher strength than previously available in the market. The previous range of tubes catered for pressure ratings […]
Can Copper Corrode?
Generally no-even after centuries under soil-but there are some underground situations where it can, including: abnormally aggressive soils localized and long-line-type concentration cells created by differences in soil composition the action of stray direct currents (DC) flowing in the ground faulty design and workmanship certain conditions created by alternating currents (AC) thermogaivanic effects galvanic action […]
A Plumbing Champion
Shelly Decker is helping to revitalise what she sees as a lack of skills amongst plumbing apprentices in her role as both a TAFE teacher and Victorian Building Authority registration examiner. Four years ago, she began organising inter TAFE plumbing competitions in Victoria to assist motivating & mentoring candidates for the international World Skills challenge. […]
