Auto refreshing div in jQuery
If this is for a complex web application, I would recommend using some sort of MVC framework. Personally I prefer backbone.js. Here are some great resources that should help you develop a maintainable app, as well help with updating and refreshing views. 

MVC explanation: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff649643.aspx

Backbone.js: http://documentcloud.github.com/backbone/

Connection between the two: http://css.dzone.com/articles/backbonejs-mvc-javascript

As a more direct answer to your question, I believe the code you have looks fine. But if you have multiples modules in your application, running view refresh functions on timers is not a good idea.