James M Fricker, energy audits, test & consulting engineers for building services, testing, indoor air quality, air conditioning equipment testing, air filters

testing, building, energy, engineers, services, maintenance, air filters, insulation, iaq. James Fricker

JAMES M FRICKER PTY LTD

ABN 32 080 307 348

Ringwood North, Vic 3134

Australia

Mobile: 0414~804~097

Int: +61~414~804~097

(Note: fax terminated as email preferred)

https://fricker.net.au

(updated 2025 following optus hack)

James Fricker has had 20+ years experience in energy studies, energy audits and
energy targetting which has reaped clients significant rewards.

Energy Audits, Targets and Investigations

Office and Factory Energy Audits
Energy Targets
Cooling and heating load calculations and simulation
Insulation design, modelling and calculations
Insulation system evaluation for Australian building accreditation.
Innovative improvements to equipment design

Energy Audit Case Study

In a recent case, I was engaged to determine the cause of very high energy costs ($A36/a.sqm) in a new public building. Energy target determination and analysis determined consumption was double what should be expected for proper design. Investigations revealed the main causes as:

The unusual facade caused high cooling load in summer and high heating load in winter due to exposed north facing glazing.
Some automatic controls were set bypassed without the knowledge of management causing nearly continuous operation of some services.
Last minute cost cutting caused the ommission of an insulation layer beneath floor hydronic heating coils. (Very unwise in a long slender building!)
In a first-cost economy, warm air heating was installed on evaporative cooling ducts, but the lack of return air utilisation caused excessive ventilation and loss of warmed air from the building in winter.

Recommendations were made to improve comfort and reduce energy costs, however, especially in this case, design for low energy would have been far more cost effective if considered at the outset.
i.e. Ensure energy efficiency before building.

For energy advice or audit, contact me now.

Greenhouse Gases

Energy Efficiency deserves increasing importance because all energy consumption eventually ends up as waste heat, heating up our planet and affecting agriculture and fisheries.
Energy is consumed from several sources with different efficiencies and produces different byproducts.
Some energy sources are "free" and unpolluting, but not as flexible to use (e.g. solar heat and wind).
Some fossil fuel sources are very plentiful and cheap, but make significant contribution to the Greenhouse Effect, warming our planet. (e.g. brown coal).
Other fossil fuels are relatively concentrated and are less harmful, but these fuels are rapidly being exhausted. (e.g. LPG, oil, black coal).

Inevitably, energy costs must super-escalate. Plan NOW!

For detailed cost and environmental assessment of your alternatives, contact me now.

For text examples and case studies, click here.
For pictorial examples, click here.
Please ring, fax or e-mail me to discuss your needs.

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