With Plumbing Practitioners
now more than ever in the front line when it comes to offering advice on energy
efficient solutions, it is a timely reminder to all practitioners that HB
276-2004A Guide to Good Practice for Energy Efficient Installations of
Residential Heating, Cooling and Air Conditioning Plant and Equipment (the
Guide) is now called up in the Plumbing Regulations 2008.
One of the
areas that the Guide clearly covers is the minimum R-value for the insulation
of ductwork for heating and cooling of Residential dwellings (new or existing).
It prescribes that the minimum R-value of 1.0 is required for ductwork.
It also
states that where flexible ductwork is installed in roof cavities, the flexible
ductwork should be sheathed in a reflective metallised/aluminium foil to reduce
radiant heat gain to the duct.
Note: In
Alpine areas, to comply with the Building Code of Australia, you may need to
increase the insulation R-value of ductwork to R1.5.
(Extract
from Plumbing Industry Commission ‘Insites’ magazine June 2010)
