ASHRAE New Mexico News

ASHRAE Congratulates Senate on Passage of Energy Policy Modernization Act

Fri, 22 Apr 2016 14:44:46 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – ASHRAE is pleased to see the passage on Wednesday by the U.S. Senate of the Energy Policy Modernization Act, marking an important step toward making buildings in all sectors more energy efficient.

The Senate passed the Act by a vote of 85 to 12. The bill contains numerous building energy code provisions that were supported by ASHRAE.

“The passage of the Energy Policy Modernization Act demonstrates the power of persistent bipartisan leadership by many leaders throughout the Senate. Each of these senators understands the need for reform and the dangers that lie ahead if we do not change,” ASHRAE President David Underwood said. “This accomplishment is shared by hundreds of stakeholders who have connected with members of Congress, helping them understand the complexities and likely impacts of legislation on the building and many other industries. ASHRAE congratulates the Senate on this accomplishment and stands ready to assist as leaders in both chambers work to produce a final bill that the President can sign, and which truly advances the arts and sciences of HVAC&R to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world.”

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its more than 55,000 members worldwide focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today. More information can be found at www.ashrae.org/news.

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Join ASHRAE as a Member or Associate by Friday, May 13, 2016 and be entered to win a LulzBot ® Mini Desktop 3D Printer!

Fri, 22 Apr 2016 14:43:44 GMT

New ASHRAE Members and Associates who join ASHRAE by Friday, May 13, 2016 will be eligible to win a LulzBot ® Mini Desktop 3D Printer. The winner will be contacted by Wednesday, June 8, 2016.

Click here for more info

Lowest Rates Available for ASHRAE Conference End Soon

Thu, 21 Apr 2016 15:06:20 GMT

Register today for the ASHRAE Conference in St. Louis. Take advantage of the opportunity to discuss and examine the latest topics in the building industry and earn professional development credits.

Early bird registration, offering the lowest Conference rates, ends April 26. Register early! www.ashrae.org/stlouis

The Conference Technical Program offers an excellent opportunity to learn the results of cutting-edge research and the latest standards that affect the built environment. Topics include nearly every technology used in HVAC&R including alternative refrigerants, fire and smoke control, smart control systems and sources and efficient utilization of renewable energy. In addition, learn the personal and business skills necessary to become and remain a leader in our industry.

The Technical Program features eight tracks, 108 sessions and more than 400 speakers.

Check out the new interactive Technical Program to find the topics, sessions and speakers of most interest to you! Featuring options to search by track, program type, date and keyword, the interactive Technical Program provides a detailed look at each session from color-coded tracks to sponsoring committees. Access, browse and bookmark the feature on your computer, tablet or smartphone.

The interactive Technical Program is available at www.ashrae.org/stlouisinteractivetechprogram.

167 Professional Development Hours Available
PDHs recognized by most U.S. states, AIA LUs and LEED®AP credits are available through ASHRAE Learning Institute courses and Technical Program sessions.

Here are a few more reasons to join ASHRAE in St. Louis.

Network and Attend a Society Meeting – ASHRAE has some 100 technical committees to address your technical area of interest. Attend a meeting or two and meet new colleagues. The meetings are open to all. This may be your best networking opportunity!

ASHRAE Learning Institute – choose from two full-day professional development seminars and eight half-day short courses to stay current on new HVAC&R technologies.

ASHRAE Certification – apply by June 6 to sit for an ASHRAE Certification exam in one of these key built environment fields: Energy Assessment l Energy Modeling l Commissioning l Healthcare Facility Design l High Performance Building Design l Building Operations.

www.ashrae.org/stlouis

New Initiative Refers Colleagues for Membership

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 14:36:15 GMT

Connect-a-Colleague is an easy-to-use referral tool that links members' colleagues to the Society. By simply entering a colleague's name and email, ASHRAE members can have a prewritten invitation to join ASHRAE sent on their behalf. Users have the option to add a custom message, and reference a technical committee section that may be of interest to their colleague. Member referrals are the top reason new members join ASHRAE.

https://www.ashrae.org/membership--conferences/connect-a-colleague

2016 Handbook to be Mailed in May

Fri, 15 Apr 2016 14:32:35 GMT

The 2016 ASHRAE Handbook—HVAC Systems and Equipment will begin being mailed to members in May. To ensure proper delivery, members are encouraged to check their ASHRAE online profile at the "My Membership" page prior to April 15 to verify their mailing address. In addition, if members have not paid their annual dues, they are encouraged to do so by May 31 to ensure they receive a Handbook. Dues can be paid online on the "My Membership" page. Members entitled to receive the ASHRAE Handbook can choose a one-year subscription to the Handbook Online with CD package as their benefit instead of the print/CD combination in place for many years. Another option is the print/CD/online package—a combination of all three formats—for an additional cost.

https://www.ashrae.org/resources--publications/periodicals/enewsletters/esociety/2016-04-16-articles/2016-handbook-to-be-mailed-in-may

Voting Opens This Month for 2016–17 Board of Directors

Thu, 14 Apr 2016 14:35:32 GMT

ASHRAE members will vote on nominees for the 2016–17 Board of Directors via electronic ballots being emailed in April. Emails containing a link to the electronic ballot will begin being sent on April 28 to all qualified voting members with valid email addresses in the Society database. Voting members who do not have valid email addresses in the Society database will receive a print mailing with a Web address to the electronic ballot and log-in credentials. Nominations for officers and directors are made by the Nominating Committee from a list recommended by individual members and from Chapters Regional Conferences. Additionally, any voting member of the Society may write in the name of an individual for any office.

https://www.ashrae.org/resources--publications/periodicals/enewsletters/esociety/2016-04-16-articles/voting-opening-for-2016-17-bod

ASHRAE, AIA Look to Future of Energy Efficiency with Signing of New MOU

Tue, 05 Apr 2016 18:58:45 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Building on past outreach, ASHRAE and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, committing them to working together in a variety of built environment areas.

The MOU recently was signed by ASHRAE President David Underwood and AIA President Russ Davidson. The agreement states the two organizations will work jointly in areas related to development of young professionals, advocacy and public outreach, publications, education, technical activities and research.

“ASHRAE and AIA share many common technical interests, including health and safety, energy efficiency, and resilience,” David Underwood, ASHRAE president, said. “This agreement formalizes our plans to foster technical cooperation in these areas, providing needed guidance to the industry.”

“We are at a pivotal juncture as an industry to address the growing number of design challenges,” said AIA President, Russ Davidson, FAIA. “The extension of this agreement is important for our organizations to continue to work together to further sustainable design strategies, to be active on building codes related issues, as well as for providing tangible resources that are useful for our respective members in their daily practice.”

In past projects with a focus on improving energy efficiency of buildings and systems, ASHRAE and AIA are part of a group that is developing a new version of the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) sponsored by the International Code Council (ICC), the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The code, scheduled to be released in 2018, will be powered by ANSI/ASHRAE/ICC/IES/USGBC Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings developed using the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved ASHRAE consensus process.

ASHRAE and AIA also joined together with IES, USGBC and the Department of Energy (DOE) in developing the Advanced Energy Design Guide series. The nine books in the series provide recommendations for achieving 50% and 30% energy savings over the minimum code requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings

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2016 Residential IAQ Standard Published by ASHRAE

Fri, 01 Apr 2016 18:54:40 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Multifamily units in all types of buildings are now covered in the scope of ASHRAE’s residential indoor air quality standard, marking one of the biggest changes to the recently published 2016 version.

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2016, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings, defines the roles of and minimum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope intended to provide acceptable indoor air quality in residential buildings.

Prior to this edition multifamily residential buildings four stories or above fell under the scope of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality.

Now the dwelling units themselves are covered by 62.2 regardless of building height, while common areas of those buildings remain in the scope of 62.1, according to Paul Francisco, chair of the Standard 62.2 committee.

Francisco said the change provides consistency of ventilation requirements for dwelling units regardless of building height. For new construction, this will result in a change of requirements for dwelling units in 4 story and above buildings. For the retrofit market, this change will result in coverage by ASHRAE ventilation standards for the first time in residential dwellings in 4 story and above story buildings. The 2016 standard also includes a method of claiming an infiltration credit for horizontally-attached units.

Another major change in the standard provides a means of determining equivalency for a variety of ventilation scheduling strategies. This change also includes a maximum short-term exposure to make sure that meeting annual equivalence does not unduly compromise short-term IAQ.

The cost of Standard 62.2-2016, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings, is $54, ASHRAE members ($64, non-members). To order, visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore or contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide) or fax 678-539-2129.

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New ASHRAE Publication Explains The Impact Of IT Equipment On Data Center Design

Thu, 31 Mar 2016 23:36:13 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA — The 13th book in ASHRAE’s Datacom Series, “IT Equipment Design Impact on Data Center Solutions,” is now available. The book was developed by ASHRAE’s Technical Committee 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Data Centers, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment.

“Technology in general, including the data center industry, changes faster than other industries,” Don Beaty, publications chair of TC 9.9, said. “Disruption is around the corner in all aspects of our lives: social media, online retail, access to information and entertainment. With everything from smartphones to thermostats generating data, backend IT systems are experiencing massive hardware demands. Data centers must have a footprint that is flexible, scalable and adaptable. They must be able to move as fast as new applications are developed and keep up with new ideas, new architectures, and new ways of thinking – all in real time.”

Beaty explains how this is being addressed in this new publication.

“Book 13 is focused on the IT equipment impact on data center solutions,” he said. “Although software is moving faster than hardware, hardware is still moving much faster than facilities. This book draws upon the foundations laid in the previous 12 Datacom books along with significant updated and new material to provide valuable insight to address this challenge with chapters on IT equipment, its thermal design and interactions between IT systems and the data center.”

The cost of “IT Equipment Design Impact on Data Center Solutions” is $50, ASHRAE members ($59, non-members). To order, visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore or contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide) or fax 678-539-2129.

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Lighting Requirements For High Rise Dwellings Proposed For Energy Standard

Wed, 30 Mar 2016 23:35:41 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – A proposal that would set lighting requirements for high-rise dwellings in the energy standard published by ASHRAE and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) is open for industry comment.

Fourteen addenda to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2013, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, are open for public comment from March 25 until April 24, 2016. To comment or learn more, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.

Among them is addendum do. Currently, lighting in dwelling units in high-rise buildings is exempt in both Standard 90.1 and ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.2, Energy Standard for Low-Rise Residential Buildings.

“In general, lighting within someone’s personal dwelling unit (home) has been exempt because it was not considered commercial, which is the focus of 90.1,” Eric Richman, chair of the standard’s lighting subcommittee, said. “The International Energy Conservation Code with its residential component and other similar state codes developed some basic requirements for dwelling unit lighting several years ago that addressed product efficacy. At the time, it was difficult to develop requirements that would ensure savings and still be practical for personal spaces. Over time, the lack of dwelling unit requirements in 90.1 presented a potential gap in energy savings. These new requirements would set efficacy minimums and/or controls for the lighting in dwelling unit spaces covered in the standard’s scope, which includes multi-family structures of four stories or above.”

The proposed requirements are similar to those in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program for high efficacy lighting. They are simplified to apply to dwelling units in commercial buildings and to support compliance as well as being conservative to allow design flexibility. The proposed efficacy requirements will effectively eliminate the use of incandescent/halogen sources as well as less efficacious products in the compact fluorescent (CFL) andlight emitting diodes (LED) categories.

Also among the addenda open for public comment is addendum ei, which tightens requirements to ensure that non-historic elements or areas of buildings meet the applicable requirements. Currently, the historic building exemption can allow for exempting the entire building, including parts that may be new additions or not part of the historic element, according to Richman.

Other addenda open for public comment until April 24, 2016, are:

Addendum bd requires monitoring chiller plant efficiency in large electric motor driven chilled water plants for plants with a peak chilled water output based upon equipment type and climate zone. The change is designed to help commissioning and ongoing operations of the aforementioned chilled water plants.
Addendum dw adds efficiencies for hydraulic elevator motors. The efficiency for the motors used in hydraulic elevators is substantially different than the motor efficiencies used for traction elevators. In addition the hydraulic elevator motors are usually not a type covered by the standard.
Addendum dz provides clarifications only to changes made as a result of addendum cp. This addendum does not change the criteria of the standard. The base assembly for metal building walls is clarified and reference to all insulation methods is recognized in Section A3.2 rather than indicating one insulation methodology as the “base assembly,” which is not intended.
Addendum ea addresses minor inconsistencies in terminology in sections 5 thru 11 that have developed over time.
Addendum eb addresses minor inconsistencies in terminology in Appendices C and G that have developed over time.
Addendum ec. When preparing documentation to explain the derivation of each number in Table 4.2.1.1 (Building Performance Factors), a single number was found to be inconsistent with the derived values. This addendum corrects that inconsistency.
Addendum ed adds HVAC System Types 11, 12 and 13 to Section G.3.1.3.18 Dehumidification.
Addendum ef changes Table G3.1.1-2, based on updated 2012 U.S. Department of Energy’s Commercial Building Energy Consumption (CBECS) information for baseline service water heating systems.
Addendum eg removes a sentence that is no longer necessary since the most common building energy modeling programs are able to simulate integrated water economizers.
Addendum ej modifies the text to use correct terminology for LED drivers.
Addendum ek establishes baseline commercial refrigeration limits for Appendix G, which are based on the California Energy Commission Appliance Efficiency Regulations 2005.
Addendum el adds a mandatory requirement for air-cooled direct expansion cooling units with economizers to have basic fault detection and diagnostic systems and were developed in consultation with unitary system and economizer control manufacturers.

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its more than 50,000 members worldwide focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today. For more information, visit www.ashrae.org/news.

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Meet Us In St. Louis: ASHRAE Takes Its Annual Conference To Historical HVAC&R City

Mon, 28 Mar 2016 23:34:55 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

Editor's Note: A sidebar on HVAC&R-related historical items about St. Louis is available upon request.

ATLANTA – In 1904, at the World’s Fair held in St. Louis, Missouri, the general population was introduced for the first time to the comfort of air conditioning.

One hundred and twelve years later, ASHRAE is taking its Annual Conference to the city to discuss the latest in built environment technology. The Conference takes place June 25-29, Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel and America’s Center Convention Complex.

To register or for complete information, visit www.ashrae.org/stlouis.

The Conference Technical program features a track on Smart Building Systems, which addresses the revolution in information technology applied to the built environment. Weather and time of day utility rate forecasting, distributed sensors and remote monitoring and control are all included. Also taking place is the fourth annual Research Summit, which reports results on many aspects of ASHRAE-related research.

Tracks are:

Advances in Refrigeration Systems and Alternative Refrigerants
Fundamentals and Applications
HVAC Systems and Equipment
Smart Building Systems/Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics
Indoor Environment: Health, Comfort, Productivity
Professional Skills Beyond Engineering
Renewable Energy Systems and Net Zero Buildings

ASHRAE Learning Institute (ALI) offers two full-day seminars and eight half-day courses. New courses include Variable Refrigerant Flow System Design & Applications; Standard 188-2015 – Successfully Managing the Risk of Legionellosis; and Designing Tall, Supertall and Megatall Building Systems. More information can be found at www.ashrae.org/stlouiscourses.

Apply by June 6 to sit for one of six ASHRAE certification exams: Energy Assessment, Energy Modeling, Commissioning, Healthcare Facility Design, High- Performance Building Design and Building Operations. Apply at www.ashrae.org/stlouisexams.

Technical tours include the Center Ethanol Co., the America's Center chiller plant and the St. Louis Sheet Metal Workers Apprentice and Training School. General tours include a taste of local culinary delights, a look at facilities related to the city’s baseball history, the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, the botanical gardens and historical homes, microbreweries, architecture, and a visit to historical areas of interest.

Jeff Henderson is the keynote speaker at the opening Plenary Session, held Saturday, June 25. Henderson discovered his passion and gift for cooking in a most unlikely place—prison. He is now an award-winning chef, bestselling author and Food Network television star.

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its more than 54,000 members worldwide focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today. More information can be found at www.ashrae.org/news.

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ASHRAE Grant-In-Aid Funds Human Thermal Comfort Database Project

Fri, 25 Mar 2016 23:34:12 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Creation of a database to help better understand human thermal comfort in residential and commercial buildings is being funded through an ASHRAE grant program.

Veronika Foldvary, a visiting Ph.D. student at the Center for the Built Environment (CBE), University of California, Berkeley, is one of 18 students who will receive a grant through the ASHRAE Graduate Student Grant-In-Aid Award Program, which is designed to encourage students to continue their education in preparation for service in the HVAC&R industry. The grants, totaling $180,000, are awarded to full-time graduate students of ASHRAE-related technologies.

The project would identify previous thermal comfort and occupant responses in residential and commercial buildings worldwide. Foldvary would collect that data to construct an international database, which would include measurements of all the physical conditions affecting thermal comfort (air temperature, humidity, air movement, radiant temperature and occupant clothing and metabolic rate) plus subjective surveys (thermal sensation, comfort, perceived air quality and wherever possible, adaptive behavior and interaction with building controls).

“The database would be used to analyze trends in thermal comfort and behavior patterns and evaluate current comfort prediction tools, as well as their relevance to different building types, climates, cultures and demographics,” Foldvary said. “We would convene discussion groups to address issues of data analysis and representation to ensure its usefulness to the global research community. The analysis will provide the evidence base for developing improved international standards.”

Grant recipients are:

Paul Armatis, Oregon State University, Experimental Validation of Models for Heat and Mass Performance Evaluation of Membrance Based Energy Recovery Devices
Daniel Fernandes Bacellar, University of Maryland, Airside Heat Transfer Augmentation Using Multi-Scale Analysis and Shape Optimization for Compact Heat Exchanges with Small Hydraulic Diameters
Jennifer Date, Concordia University, Model-Based Control of Convectively Conditioned Thermal Zones for Energy and Load Management
Amin Engarnevis, University of British Columbia, Effect of Humidity, Temperature and Particle Fouling on Permeation Properties of Polymer Membrances
Veronika Foldvary, University of California, Thermal Comfort Database for Commercial and Residential Buildings
Seyed Ghahfarrokhy, University of Toronto, Development and Validation of a Novel Approach to Quantify the Impact of Human Exposure to Particle-Bound Contaminants in the Indoor Environment
Sara Gilani, Carleton University, Occupant Modeling for Prediction of Comfort and building Energy Performance in Office Spaces
Kristen Jaczko, Queen’s University in Kingston, Advanced Integrated Energy Systems for High Performance buildings
Leigh Lesnick, University of Texas at Austin, Characterization of Air Mixing with Different HVAC Systems and Assessment of Potential for Airborne Infectious Disease Transmission in Schools
Hongwan Li, University of Texas Austin, Evaluation of HVAC Filters a Sampling Mechanism for SVOC Pollutants in U.S. Schools
Ryan Milcarek, Syracuse University, Flame Assisted Fuel Cell for Micro Combined Heating and Power Systems; also receives the Grant-In-Aid Life Member Club grant designation given to the highest rated applicants and supported by a financial contribution from the club.
Fuxin Niu, University of Alabama, Uncertainty Quantifications and Operation Optimization of Buildings as Virtual Batteries for the Grid with High Penetrations of Renewables
Sukjoon Oh, Texas A&M University, Quantifying the Energy Savings Benefits of Smart Meters and Home Automation for Single Family Residences
Parichehr Salimifrad, Pennsylvania State University, Transport of Indoor Biological Dust
Yi Wang, National University Singapore, Effectiveness of Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation Systems in Air Handling Units in Enhancing IAQ and Energy Performance; also receives the Grant-In-Aid Life Member Club grant designation given to the highest rated applicants and supported by a financial contribution from the club.
Jiu Xu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Oil Separation Compressors

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ASHRAE Webcast Registration Opens March 21

Mon, 21 Mar 2016 23:33:30 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Registration for the 2016 ASHRAE Webcast, “Making Net Zero Net Positive: Solving the Efficiency & Cost Paradox,” opens today, March 21, at www.ashrae.org/webcast. There is no fee for registration.

The webcast will broadcast live on April 21, 2016, from 1-4 p.m. EDT. This webcast is offered by ASHRAE’s Chapter Technology Transfer Committee (CTTC).

“The presenters will discuss the primary technical and financial challenges in achieving net zero buildings,” Nathan Hart, chair of the CTTC Webcast Ad Hoc Committee, said. “Viewers will learn the importance of, and why we should strive for, net zero in the built environment. The focus will be on realistic solutions and methods of energy conservation.”

Webcast presenters are:

2015-16 ASHRAE President David Underwood, P.Eng., CPMP, Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Marc Brune, P.E., senior associate and mechanical engineer, PAE, Portland, Ore.
Philip Macey, AIA, national director of collaborative delivery, JE Dunn Construction, Denver, Colo.
Paul Torcellini, Ph.D., P.E., principal engineer for commercial building research, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colo.

The Webcast has been approved for three HSW Learning Units (LU/HSW) by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and three Continuing Education Hours (CEs) by GBCI. The state of New York also recognizes AIA course approval.

Visit www.ashrae.org/webcast for more information on the webcast and continuing education credits, as well as ASHRAE net zero resources.

Not able to view the live webcast? Register to take advantage of the free online on demand webcast, which allows viewers unlimited access to the webcast online until May 6, 2016. Registration is required to view the on demand webcast.

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ASHRAE Funds 24 Undergraduate Projects; Aerial Vehicle For Energy Audits

Thu, 10 Mar 2016 00:32:27 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1216
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Engineers will get a bird’s eye view of the energy use of building envelopes under a project funded through an ASHRAE Undergraduate Senior Project Grant.

This year, 24 schools from around the world were awarded grants. The grants, totaling some $110,000, are awarded by ASHRAE to colleges and universities worldwide to promote the study and teaching of HVAC&R, encouraging senior undergraduate students to pursue related careers.

The grants are used to design and construct projects, such as The University of Alabama’s proposal to use an unmanned aerial vehicle to document building energy audits. The project notes that while building audits are a key process for determining building efficiency, performance and faults, audits require knowledge of the internal building and energy system and the external building envelope, which can present a challenge.

“The vehicle would be used to quantify envelope characteristics of hard-to-reach and large regions on modern buildings,” Zheng O’Neill, Ph.D., of the Mechanical Engineering Department and advisor of the project, said. “The information will provide engineers with systematically measured control volume characteristics. For example, infrared thermal camera data will provide information of building envelope temperature, which can be used for building infiltration diagnostics.”

She will work with Charles O’Neill of the Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics Department for the vehicle development and flight tests.

The goal of the project is to build a co-robot (human controlled with robotic assistance) quadcopter with onboard sensors including infrared temperature camera, visible light camera, heat flux sensors, direct temperature probes and location and orientation.

Other ASHRAE grant recipients are:

Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Design and Prototyping of a Heat Transfer Enhanced Hybrid Air Based Building Integrated Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal Collector for Net Zero Energy Building Applications
Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio, Chiller Control Training Boards
Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, A Laboratory System for Evaluating Cooling Systems in Consumer Electronic Devices
University of Windsor (Ontario), A Novel Membrane Absorption Heat Pump
University of Oregon, Eugene, Campus Audit Squads for Energy (CASE) Studies
Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Evaluation of Office-Level Energy Consumption Using a Sparse Sensor Network
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Cooling and Electricity from Renewable Compressed Air
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind., HVAC Heat Transfer Experiment and Modelling
De La Salle University-Manila, Design, Fabrication and Testing of a Laboratory Set-up of an Aqua-Ammonia Absorption System
University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines, Development of an Ice Storage Air Conditioning System as Laboratory Equipment for Engineer Students of University of Santo Tomas
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Solar Energy PCM Storage combined with Solar-Powered Water Purification
The University of Texas at Tyler, Auto Self-Balanced Zoning System
The University of Texas at Tyler, Phase II – TxAIRE House 2 Ground Source Heat Pump
Capital University of Science and Technology Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan, Design and Fabrication of a Heat Pump
Mapúa Institute of Technology, Manila, Philippines, Improvement of An Indoor Environmental Quality Laboratory
Mapúa Institute of Technology, Manila, Philippines, Development of a Laboratory Set-Up of a Geothermal Air-Conditioning System
Texas A&M University - Kingsville, Development of a Miniature HVAC System on Wheel for Classroom Application
North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, N.C., Integrated Variable Air Volume and Terminal VAV Box Control with BACnet DDC, Matlab-Based Monitoring, and Simulation Systems
The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Building Energy Audits Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio, Development of a Ground Source Heat Pump Simulator
D Y Patil, Maharashtra, India, Performance Analysis of PTC based Solar Powered Solid Adsorption Refrigeration System
Montana State University, Bozeman, Radiant Panel Design Set
University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal, Development of a Clean Technology Applied in the Air Treatment and Energy Production
Mississippi State University, Smart Building Wireless Sensor Network

For more information on the grant program, visit www.ashrae.org/grants. ASHRAE will begin accepting applications for the 2016-17 program in August 2016, with a December 2016 final deadline.

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a building technology society with more than 50,000 members worldwide. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability within the industry. Through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today.

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New Course On Variable Refrigerant Flow Offered In ASHRAE Spring Online Courses

Thu, 25 Feb 2016 00:31:47 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – A new course, “Variable Refrigerant Flow System Design & Application,” is one of 11 offerings in ASHRAE’s Spring Online Course series.

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems are now being applied in a range of building types across North America. Benefits of VRF include zoning applications, variable capacity, distributed control, low operating sound, simultaneous heating and cooling, effective energy usage, quick installation, low ambient operation and low maintenance costs.

The course, which takes place May 16, provides non-manufacturer specific concepts of how to apply VRF systems to buildings. It will supplement the fundamental technology introduction presented in the 2012 ASHRAE Handbook, HVAC Systems and Equipment, offering the consulting engineers who already have a basic knowledge of VRF technology.

Eleven online professional development seminars focused on commissioning, spring environmental quality, energy efficiency, HVAC applications, and standards and guidelines are being offered this sby the ASHRAE Learning Institute (ALI).

Participants can access these instructor-led courses from anywhere with an Internet connection, and earn continuing education units/professional development hours for each course completed.

ALI courses provide professional development through in-depth information that is timely, practical and advanced beyond a fundamental level. Online courses are offered every spring and fall.

For pricing or to register, visit www.ashrae.org/onlinecourses. The courses offered this fall cover a variety of topics relevant to today’s built environment, including:

Commissioning

Commissioning Process & Standard 202, March 30

Energy Efficiency

Combined Heat & Power: Creating Efficiency through Design & Operations, March 28
IT Equipment Design Evolution & Data Center Operation Optimization, April 6

HVAC Applications

Air-to-Air Energy Recovery Applications: Best Practices. April 27
Laboratory Design: The Basics and Beyond, April 18
Operation & Maintenance of High-Performance Buildings, May 17 and 18
Variable Refrigerant Flow System Design & Applications, May 16

Standards & Guidelines

ASHRAE Standard 188-2015 – Successfully Managing the Risk of Legionellosis, April 25
Complying with Standard 90.1-2013: HVAC/Mechanical, April 13
Exceeding Standard 90.1-2013 to Meet LEED®, April 11 and 20
Fundamental Requirements of Standard 62.1-2013, May 2

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Attendance High For ASHRAE Winter Conference, AHR Expo

Sat, 06 Feb 2016 00:31:07 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

Editors Note: Photographs from the Conference are available upon request.

ATLANTA – High attendance was reported for the recent ASHRAE Winter Conference and AHR Expo, in Orlando. The 2016 ASHRAE Winter Conference, was held Jan. 23-27, with the AHR Expo held Jan. 25-27.

The Winter Conference had more than 3,000 attendees. Attendance this year was higher than the past eight Winter Conferences, except Las Vegas 2011. Attendees came from 67 countries. The 2016 AHR Expo, co-sponsored by ASHRAE, set a record by being the first show outside of Chicago to break 400,000 square feet of exhibitor space. The Expo featured 2,063 exhibitors, including 561 deemed international. The total attendance for visitors was 42,672, with total attendance of visitors and exhibitors at 60,926.

Best sellers at the ASHRAE Bookstores included the Pocket Guide I-P; “HVAC Design Manual for Hospitals and Clinics,” 2nd edition; “Cold-Climate Buildings Design Guide;” Guideline 0-2013, The Commissioning Process; Standard 188-2015, Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems; “HVAC Simplified;” and the “Design Guide for Tall, Supertall, and Megatall Building Systems.”

The Conference’s Technical Program ranked high in attendance, with new tracks focused on design-build practices and residential systems. Individual top-attended sessions in the technical program were related to Cooling with the Sun: Solar Thermal Cooling; Energy Submetering Fundamentals: Benchmarking, Baselining and Beyond!; The Impacts of Operable Windows on Building Performance; Highlights from the 24th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration; The Internet of Everything: How Smart and Connected Sensors Will Transform the HVAC Service Industry; HVAC Pumps: New ECM Motor and Control Technologies; Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficiency: Measurement and Analysis of Multiple Approaches; Back to Basics: The Science, Application and Art of Load Calculations; Integrating Cutting-Edge Technology: Renewable Energy and Thermal Energy Storage; and Hydronic Systems: Doing More with Less.

Also offered were a combined 20 Professional Development Seminars and Short Courses from ASHRAE Learning Institute. The most popular Short Course offerings were Variable Refrigerant Flow Systems; Complying with Standard 90.1: HVAC/Mechanical; and Designing High-Performance Healthcare HVAC Systems. The Professional Development Seminars that drew the highest number of registrations were Energy Modeling Best Practices & Applications; Commercial Building Energy Audits; and Commissioning Process for New & Existing Buildings.

The 2016 ASHRAE Annual Conference takes place in St. Louis, Mo., June 25-June 29, 2016. The 2017 ASHRAE Winter Conference takes place Jan. 28-Feb. 1, Las Vegas, Nev., with the AHR Expo being held Jan. 30-Feb 1.

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ASHRAE Announces Call For Papers For 2017 Winter Conference, Jan. 28–Feb. 1, Las Vegas

Thu, 04 Feb 2016 00:30:27 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – ASHRAE has announced a call for papers for its 2017 Winter Conference in Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2017.

The conference seeks papers that address the new conference tracks and other prevailing issues in the industry.

“Today’s HVAC&R profession is facing challenges unlike those from the past,” Leon Shapiro, Conference chair, said. “The rapidity with which technology advances the modeling, design, equipment, systems, construction and operation of the buildings we deal with, along with the speed with which climate change is significantly altering the conditions around which we design, are creating problems for today’s ASHRAE members. The conference seeks to address those problems.”

The conference seeks papers on new tracks that address the changes in technology:

The relationship between water usage and energy systems becomes more prominent as the demands of development and over use as well as climate change continue to drain resources. The Water-Energy Nexus track highlights research in this area. It also explores technologies and designs intended to reduce the gap between energy and water efficiency.
The Advances in Mission Critical Design and Operation track highlights developments in mission critical facilities and the challenges of meeting increasing load demands while minimizing the impact on energy and water usage.
Climate change will have an increasing effect on the design and operation of the built environment. The Climate Change and Its Effects on HVAC&R Design and Technologies track focuses on methods to increase building resiliency and facilitate climate adaptation.
Energy Efficient Industrial Buildings and Life Safety spotlights energy efficiency in industrial buildings and how it can be achieved without compromising life safety considerations.

In addition, the conference seeks papers on Fundamentals and Applications, HVAC&R Systems and Equipment, Commercial and Industrial IAQ and Building Operation and Performance: Meeting the Modeling Expectations.

“The industry’s goal is to design, build and operate buildings today that are efficient and sustainable, and that are intended to remain efficient and sustainable into the future,” Shapiro said. “How do you accomplish that if tomorrow promises to be notably different than today? No sensible design decisions can be made without taking into account not only the world as it has been or is, but also the world as it will be. The 2017 ASHRAE Winter Conference attempts to bridge this design challenge through the tracks and papers and programs accepted for the program.”

ASHRAE offers two types of paper submissions:

Conference Papers: Abstracts due March 14, 2016. Upon acceptance, papers will be due July 6, 2016. These “final” papers undergo a single-blind review, are submitted as a PDF and have an eight single-spaced page maximum length.

Full Technical Papers, which are due April 18, 2016. Papers submitted for review must be both technically accurate and clearly written. These papers undergo a rigorous double-blind review and can be a maximum of 30 double-spaced pages.

To submit a Conference paper abstract or a technical paper and for more information about the conference, visit www.ashrae.org/lasvegas.

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User's Manual To ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Green Standard Available

Tue, 02 Feb 2016 00:29:29 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – A newly published User’s Manual clarifies the intent and implementation of the building industry’s foremost green building standard by explaining its requirements and providing example applications.

The User’s Manual to ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2014, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is intended to help engineers, architects, and contractors understand and comply with the standard and to help code officials and others enforce its requirements. This new version of the User’s Manual updates the version published in 2010, which covered the content of Standard 189.1-2009.

Standard 189.1 addresses the areas of site sustainability; water-use efficiency; energy efficiency; indoor environmental quality; the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources; and construction and plans for operation. The standard is published by ASHRAE, the Illuminating Engineering Society of (IES) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). For complete information on the standard, including a readable copy, visitwww.ashrae.org/greenstandard.

“The 2014 standard updates the 2011 standard through 67 individual addenda that modified all sections of the standard,” Andrew Persily, chair of the Standard 189.1 committee, said. “The User’s Manual is vital in helping the industry understand these updated provisions, which will help further reduce building energy and environmental impacts through high performance design, construction and operation while providing indoor environments that support the activities of building occupants.”

Among the many changes in the 2014 edition of Standard 189.1 that are addressed in the User’s Manual are:

Change of all site requirements to mandatory, with the previous prescriptive and performance options moved to the mandatory requirements.
Addition of minimum storm water management requirements for minimizing the impact of storm water discharge from the project site.
Inclusion of new requirements for bicycle parking; preferred park for low-emission, hybrid and electric vehicles; and a predesign assessment of native and invasive plants.
Adjustment of minimum on-site renewable energy requirements to provide two clear prescriptive paths for including on-site renewable energy in a project.
Establishment of two performance options for demonstrating compliance with the minimum energy efficiency requirements.
Addition of lighting quality to the scope of the indoor environmental quality section as well as requirements for lighting controls in specific space types.
Clarification of the requirements for air sealing of filtration and air-cleaning equipment; and new requirements for preoccupancy ventilation.
Addition of minimum moisture control requirements to reduce negative impacts associated with unintentional moisture migration through the building envelope.
Addition of new requirements for multiple-attribute product declaration or certification and maximum mercury content of certain types of electric lamps.
Update of requirements related to the environmental impacts associated with the idling of construction vehicles and new requirements to reduce the entry of airborne contaminants associated with construction areas.

The cost of the User’s Manual is $105 ($89, ASHRAE members).

To order, visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore or contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide) or fax 678-539-2129.

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ASHRAE LowDown Showdown Seeks Participants For 2016 Conference

Fri, 29 Jan 2016 00:28:46 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – After the success and popularity of the first modeling challenge, the ASHRAE LowDown Showdown will be a part of the ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA SimBuild 2016 Conference, Aug. 10-12, in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Showdown is a modeling challenge designed to showcase the work of several teams competing to model a net zero or below building. The competition gives conference attendees the opportunity to work with vendors and developers to showcase their abilities using the vendor’s simulation tools, innovative workflows and creative problem solving to model a high performance building.

The Showdown provides a fun way of encouraging participation, demonstrating tool usage in building modeling and for participants to present their models to their peers and colleagues.

How to Join the ASHRAE LowDown Showdown
Each team will be comprised of volunteers who will sign up to play a role on each team, such as:

Engineers
Architects
Designers
Energy modelers

The teams will be given a “baseline building” and then each team will have several months to work together to create their proposed building.

At the conference, on the day of the Showdown, each team will present their results. Teams will be scored on a number of criteria.

The deadline to sign up to participate is Monday, Feb. 15. Join a team by signing up here:https://www.research.net/r/ashraelowdownshowdown16.

Participation in the ASHRAE LowDown Showdown is available to all registered attendees of the ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA SimBuild 2016: Building Performance Modeling Conference. Registration will open this spring.

Call for Presenters
The Call for Presenters is now open. Abstracts (400 or less words in length) and a 100-word promotional abstract are due Feb. 3, 2016. Papers are not required for accepted presentation proposals. For more information or to submit an abstract, go towww.ashrae.org/simbuild2016.

“The first jointly organized conference was held in 2014 and was a huge success in its ability to bring the building energy analysis and performance simulation community together and provide the conference content to serve attendees,” Dennis Knight, Conference chair, said. “The ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA SimBuild 2016 Conference seeks to build upon that success and further improve the industry’s ability to accurately model building performance.”

Modelers, software developers, owner and researchers will address the practices of energy modeling and building performance simulation using existing simulation tools, software development, and future simulation research and applications.

IBPSA-USA is the United States regional affiliate of the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA). The mission of IBPSA-USA is to advance and promote the science of building simulation in order to improve the design, construction, operation and maintenance of new and existing buildings in the United States.

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ASHRAE Recognizes Members For Outstanding Industry And Society Achievements

Mon, 25 Jan 2016 00:27:54 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Fifty-four people were recognized for their contributions to ASHRAE and the industry at the Society’s 2016 Winter Conference, Jan. 23-27, Orlando, Fla.

The F. Paul Anderson Award, ASHRAE’s highest for technical achievement, is given for notable achievement of outstanding services performed in the HVAC&R field. The recipient is Presidential Member Thomas E. Watson, Fellow ASHRAE, Life Member, director of the Daikin Learning Institution, Daikin Applied, Staunton, Virginia.

The ASHRAE Hall of Fame honors deceased members of the Society who have made milestone contributions to the growth of ASHRAE-related technology or the development of ASHRAE as a society. Inductees are Calvin D. MacCracken, who with more than 200 inventions and 80 patents is best known for his pioneering work in off peak cooling energy costs savings and energy conserving options in ice rinks. His inventions include flexible duct heating/cooling, a roller-type hot dog cooker, comfort controls for the Apollo astronauts' space suits, plastic mat ice rink, and roll-out solar collectors; and John Edwin Starr, a pioneer in development of small sized refrigeration systems and refrigeration by pipeline from central stations, as well as founder and the first president of The American Society of Refrigerating Engineers (ASRE), an ASHRAE predecessor society, in 1904-05.

Fellow ASHRAE is a membership grade that recognizes members who have attained distinction and made substantial contributions in HVAC&R such as education, research, engineering design and consultation, publications and mentoring. The Society elevated 17 members to the grade of Fellow:

Peter R. Armstrong, Ph.D., P.E., Masdar Institute, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Clive Broadbent, C.P.Eng., Life Member, director, Clive Broadbent and Associates Pty. Ltd., Campbell Australian Capital, Australia.
Wan Ki Chow, Ph.D., C.Eng., R.P.E., chair professor of Architectural Science and Fire Engineering, Department of Building Services Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
Suhas D. Deshpande, principal consultant, S.D. Deshpande Consulting Engineers, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
William D. Gerstler, Ph.D., senior mechanical engineer, General Electric-Global Research, Niskayuna, New York.
Kristin Heinemeier, Ph.D., P.E., principal engineer, Energy Efficiency Center, University of California, Davis.
Marisa Jimenez de Segovia, president, Air-Care de Mexico, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
Kishor Khankari, Ph.D., president, AnSight LLC., Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Kwang Woo Kim, Ph.D., P.E., a professor, Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
Dennis R. Landsberg, Ph.D., P.E., Life Member, BEAP, president, L&S Energy Services Inc., Clifton Park, New York, and Henderson, Nevada.
Patrick C. Marks, P.E., an engineering manager, Johnson Controls, York, Pennsylvania.
John A. Murphy, an applications engineer, Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand, La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Riyaz A. Papar, P.E., director, Global Energy Services, Hudson Technologies Co.
Andy Pearson, Ph.D., C.Eng., group engineering director, Star Refrigeration LTD., Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Mukund Sudhakar Ranade, a self-employed professional consultant, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
Mick Schwedler, P.E., an applications engineering manager, Trane, a brand of Ingersoll Rand, La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Om Taneja, Ph.D., P.E., an independent consultant, Associated Inspections and Consulting Engineers, Kendell Park, New Jersey.

The ASHRAE Technology Awards recognize outstanding achievements by ASHRAE members who have successfully applied innovative building design. Their designs incorporate ASHRAE standards for effective energy management and indoor air quality and serve to communicate innovative systems design.Winning projects are selected from entries earning regional awards. First place recipients are:

Benjamin A. Skelton, P.E., BEMP, president, Cyclone Energy Group, Chicago, Ill., in the new commercial buildings category for the Walgreens Net Zero Store, Evanston, Ill. The building is owned by Walgreen Co.
Dylan T. Connelly, associate, Integral Group, Oakland, Calif., in the existing commercial buildings category for DPR Construction’s San Francisco Net Positive Energy Office. The building is owned by DPR Construction.
Nicolas Lemire, Ing., HFDP, president/principal, Pageau Morel and Associates, Montreal, Quebec, in the new educational facilities category for the Anne-Marie Edward Science Building at John Abbott College, Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, Quebec. The building is owned by the college.
Ken Warren, P.E., capital project manager, Port of Seattle (Wash.), in the new industrial facilities or processes category for the Sea-Tac Airport Pre-Conditioned Air project. The building is owned by the Port of Seattle.
Jonathan M. Heller, P.E., principal engineer, Ecotope Inc., Seattle, Wash., receives first place in the residential category for the Stack House Apartments. The building is owned by Stack House Acquisition LLC.

The ASHRAE Student Design Competition focused on a three-story classroom and office building in Doha, Qatar.

First place recipients in the HVAC System Selection are from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Team members are Brianna Brass, currently seeking a Master’s of Architectural Engineering degree, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Matthew Easlon, Feinschule Hagwon, Gwangju, Korea; Mary Kleinsasser, currently seeking a Master’s of Architectural Engineering degree, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Ben MacKenzie, mechanical engineering intern, Affiliated Engineers, Madison, Wis.; and Rachel Obenland, currently seeking a Master’s of Architectural Engineering degree, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

First place recipients in the HVAC Design Calculations also are from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Team members are Kristin Hanna, currently seeking a Master’s of Architectural Engineering degree, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; Garrett Johnson; Mark Wilder, mechanical intern, M.E. Group, Omaha, Neb.

First place in the category of Integrated Sustainable Building Design goes to a team from Portland State University. Team members are Krestina Aziz, architectural designer, Otak, Portland, Ore.; Adam Buchholz, estimator, Johnson Air Products, Portland, Ore.; Nicole Dunbar, mechanical designer, Mazzetti Inc., Portland, Ore.; Lee H. Han, mechanical engineer, PAE Consulting Engineers Inc., Seattle, Wash.; Joel Joiner, project manager, Hydro-Temp Mechanical, Wilsonville, Ore.; Osman Sarper Kucuk; Blake Reynolds, mechanical designer, Interface Engineering, Portland, Ore.; Natalie Sherwood, mechanical designer, Interface Engineering, Portland, Ore.; Huy Tran, CLEARResult, Portland, Ore.; and Alex Wilson, graduate student, Portland State University.

For the Applied Engineering Challenge, students were required to design a collapsible portable conditioned shelter that can be assembled in the field to assist in the treatment of a victim of heat illness, including heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

The first place Applied Engineering Challenge recipients are from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo: Miren Aizpitarte, project engineer, Critchfield Mechanical Inc., San Jose, Calif.; Cinthya Mendez, mechanical engineer, Western Allied Mechanical, Menlo Park, Calif.; Julia Stone, mechanical facilities engineer, Intel, Chandler, Ariz.; and Willis Tang, design engineer, ACCO Engineered Systems, Glendale, Calif.

The E.K. Campbell Award of Merit honors an individual for outstanding service and achievement in teaching and is presented by the Life Members Club. The recipient is Michael M. Ohadi, Ph.D., Fellow ASHRAE, a professor of mechanical engineering and co-founder of the Center for Environmental Energy Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland.

The ASHRAE Award for Distinguished Public Service recognizes members who have performed outstanding public service in their community and, in doing so, have helped to improve the public image of the engineer. The recipient is Erich Binder, president, Erich Binder Consulting Ltd., Calgary, Alberta.

The John F. James International Award recognizes a member who has done the most to enhance the Society's international presence. The recipient is Florentino Roson Rodriguez, Ing., president, Supercontrols S.A., Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The ASHRAE Pioneers of Industry Award recognizes deceased individuals who have made milestone contributions to the growth of HVAC&R. Recipients are Daniel Livingston Holden (1837- 1924), who was a charter member of The American Society of Refrigerating Engineers and a pioneer of the commercial refrigeration industry.; and Benjamin Franklin Sturtevant (1833 – 1890), the founder of the air-side HVAC industry, having invented the equipment and starting the first company specializing in engineering and manufacturing of these systems.

Honorary Members, elected by the Board of Directors are defined as notable persons of preeminent professional distinction. Recipients are P.A. Hancock, Ph.D., Provost Distinguished Research Professor, Pegasos Professor and University Trustee chair, the University of Central Florida, Orlando; and Terry M. Manon, who retired from the Trane Co., in 2009 as director of Trane commercial systems air handling systems. He resides in Danville, Kentucky.

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New ASHRAE Application Automates Compliance Calculations For Standard 90.1-2010

Sun, 24 Jan 2016 00:26:46 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – A new web application from ASHRAE automates the calculations needed to show a building project’s compliance with Standard 90.1-2010.

The 90.1 ECB web application is a tool for modeling compliance with ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2010, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, using the Energy Cost Budget (ECB) method in the standard.

The application allows users to input project parameters and then calculate the proposed design’s projected performance and compliance, with the results exportable in a workable spreadsheet for project use,” Drake Erbe, chair of the Standard 90.1 committee, said.

The application is accessible from desktop, tablet or other device. It allows users to store project information in one place for easy reference and comparison.

The app is free of charge to users. To learn more, visit 901ECB.ashrae.org.

Guidance On New Compliance Path For 90.1-2016 Now Available

Wed, 20 Jan 2016 00:26:00 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – A newly published document from ASHRAE and IES gives users of their energy efficiency standard immediate access to an optional third path for compliance, providing more flexibility for the industry.

Standard 90.1-2013 Appendix G: Performance Rating Method is an excerpt from ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 (I-P), Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. The document gives users immediate access to selected addenda slated to be published in the 2016 version of the standard. The majority of the document is comprised of addendum bm, which allows Appendix G to be used as a compliance path within the standard.

“This document is being provided at the request of users,” Drake Erbe, chair of the Standard 90.1 committee, said. “This is the first time ASHRAE and IES have made available an interim clean publication of a portion of Standard 90.1, and we are doing so now because users have expressed a critical need for this guidance. Several entities have expressed interest in developing programs based on the revised appendix. This release also gives advanced notice to software developers that may be interested in automating the process of creating the Appendix G baseline.”

Erbe notes that the guidance in addendum bm had two significant impacts on Appendix G.

“Previously Appendix G was used only to rate ‘beyond code’ performance of buildings but could not be used to demonstrate compliance with the base 90.1 standard,” he said. “Now the standard provides that compliance path and gives credit for integrated design resulting in energy savings such as efficient use of building mass, optimized building orientation, efficient HVAC&R system selection and right sizing of HVAC&R equipment.”

Using this new version of Appendix G to show compliance with the 2016 version of the standard, the proposed building design needs to have a Performance Cost Index (PCI) less than that shown in Table 4.2.1.1 based on building type and climate zone.

The second change is that the baseline design is now fixed at a certain level of performance, the stringency of which is expected not to change with subsequent versions of the standard. By this, a building of any era can be rated using the same method with the same baseline of compliance. The intent is that any building energy code or beyond-code program can use this methodology and simply set the appropriate target for their needs analogous to those in the table. Therefore, a beyond-code program may wish to set a target less than is shown in the table (a target of 0 is a net zero building), while compliance with a previous version of the standard may wish to set a target above what is shown. Because unregulated loads are not included in the compliance target in Table 4.2.1.1, beyond-code programs that encourage improvement in unregulated loads may wish to modify the target to include those loads.

Other addenda included in the excerpt are:

Addendum k directs the modeler to use the default assemblies in Appendix A for baseline opaque envelope assemblies.
Addendum r establishes the hierarchy of the decision-making process for selecting baseline HVAC systems.
Addendum z provides detail on the simulation of base-line building heat pumps, including how auxiliary heat is used in conjunction with heat-pump heating.
Addendum aa provides direction regarding when it is appropriate to model a heating-only system in Appendix G.
Addendum ad clarifies when baseline HVAC systems should be modeled with preheat coils.
Addendum dx makes changes to the baseline lighting power allowances in Appendix G.

Erbe noted that while it is likely that the version of Appendix G published in the 2016 edition of the standard will include additional changes to Appendix G, it is not likely that they will be as extensive as those included in addendum bm. The primary focus is to make the new methodology with a fixed baseline available so users become familiar with it.

The cost of Standard 90.1-2013 Appendix G: Performance Rating Method—Excerpt from ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2013 (I-P) is $41 ($35, ASHRAE members).

To order, visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore or contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide) or fax 678-539-2129.

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UK BIM Requirement Pushes Industry Forward: ASHRAE Winter Conference Features BIM Sessions For Practitioners

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 00:24:46 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – While the United Kingdom’s Government Construction Strategy mandated use of Level 2 building information modeling (BIM) on all public sector projects by 2016, recent surveys show that fewer than 15 percent of firms are fully prepared to do so.

“There is a very strong push for BIM in the UK,” Tim Dwyer said. “While the majority of firms have indicated they are not ready for the mandate (84 percent), nearly two-thirds have indicated it will be good for the building industry and is the future for building services.”

Successful collaborative efforts within firms and between firms for BIM are presented in a session Dwyer is chairing at the ASHRAE 2016 Winter Conference, which takes place Jan. 23-27, Orlando, Fla. The ASHRAE co-sponsored AHR Expo is being held Jan. 25-27, next door at the Orange County Convention Center. To register for the ASHRAE Conference, which includes free access to the Expo, visit www.ashrae.org/orlando.

The Technical Program features eight tracks, some 100 sessions and more than 300 speakers. It runs Sunday, Jan. 24, through Wednesday, Jan. 27, and offers over 200 Professional Development Hours, as well as Continuing Education Units, which can be applied toward a Professional Engineering license in many states, including the state of Florida.

Dwyer’s seminar focuses on “Delivering Building Performance through Collaboration and Integration.” He notes that with an ever-increasing demand for more stringent building environmental requirements, collaboration across the building ‘team’ is critical to deliver effective buildings that meet standards and performance metrics.

“Successful projects do not come from ‘silo’ working practices, and increasingly the engineer will be the lead for interdisciplinary design solutions that benefit from the integrating tools, which include BIM, and technologies as well as timely, and properly informed, client communication and interaction,” he said. The seminar takes place Tuesday, Jan. 26.

Other sessions that incorporate BIM are:

Do Tall, Super Tall and Mega Tall Buildings Consume More Energy than Conventional Buildings or Do They Conserve More Energy?
New CFD Techniques for Design of Air Distribution Systems
BIM Strategies for Energy Modeling and MEP Design Consulting
Improving the Design and Performance of Ground Source Heat Pump Systems
Building Modeling Simulation
Building Modeling and Optimization
Advancements in Energy Modeling
Strategies to Improve Building Models and Operation
Simulation for Cutting-Edge Building Design

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ASHRAE Announces Call For Programs For 2016 Annual Conference

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 00:23:32 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – A call for programs has been announced for ASHRAE’s 2016 Annual Conference, June 25-29, St. Louis, Mo.

“A new ‘Smart Building Systems’ track for this conference addresses the revolution in information technology applied to the built environment,” Tom Kuehn, Conference Program chair, said. “Weather and time of day utility rate forecasting, distributed sensors and remote monitoring and control are all included in the track. Topics key to personal success are included in the “Professional Skills Beyond Engineering’ track. Programs describing advances in refrigeration technology are given special emphasis and other tracks cover more conventional topics.”

Programs are sought for the following tracks: Advances in Refrigeration Systems and Alternative Refrigerants; Fundamentals and Applications; HVAC Systems and Equipment; Smart Building Systems/Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics; Indoor Environment: Health, Comfort, Productivity; Professional Skills Beyond Engineering; and Renewable Energy Systems and Net Zero Buildings. Programs are also sought for the fourth annual Research Summit, which reports results on any aspect of ASHRAE-related research. In addition, programs focusing on practical applications and utilizing case studies are requested.

Programs are requested for the following program types: Seminars, which include 1-4 presentations on a similar topic; Workshops, which allow equal time for 1-2 presentations and discussion; and Forums, which are discussion-based sessions with no presentations.

A call for programs (non-paper based presentations) is now open through Feb. 8, 2016. To submit a proposal or for more information, go to www.ashrae.org/Stlouis.

The ASHRAE 2016 Annual Conference will take place at the America’s Center Convention Complex and Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel. The event will attract some 2,500 conference attendees and meeting participants.

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Balancing Energy, Comfort In Homes: Residential Systems Addressed At ASHRAE Winter Conference

Thu, 07 Jan 2016 00:22:10 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Over the last 15 years single family homes have been built tighter, making them much more energy efficient and comfortable compared to drafty houses of the past. But there’s a tradeoff.

"While the energy benefits are great, air tight homes demand thoughtful HVAC&R design for ventilation and building pressure management," Lew Harriman said. "The big issues involve adequate outdoor air for kitchen and bathroom exhausts and combustion appliances, plus the continuous ventilation now required by ASHRAE’s residential indoor air quality standard, 62.2."

Air tightness is indirectly connected to indoor air quality (IAQ) because IAQ is connected to total ventilation, and leaky buildings can contribute to total ventilation. But it is much more energy efficient to provide ventilation mechanically vs. through air leakage, Harriman notes.

Harriman is chairing a session that addresses residential building applications at the ASHRAE 2016 Winter Conference, which takes place Jan. 23-27, Orlando, Fla. The ASHRAE co-sponsored AHR Expo is being held Jan. 25-27, next door at the Orange County Convention Center. To register for the ASHRAE Conference, which includes free access to the Expo, visitwww.ashrae.org/orlando.

The seminar, High Performance Residential Building Applications and Issues, takes place Monday, Jan. 25. Experts from the natural gas industry, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will describe results of their decades of real-world experience measuring and understanding the behavior of tight houses. They will provide practical tips and traps to help both HVAC professionals and home owners ensure safe, high quality indoor air in the tight, net-zero energy houses of the 21st Century, according to Harriman.

The seminar program is part of the Technical Program track on modern residential systems.

"Engineering for residential HVAC and plumbing systems and equipment used to be referred to as catalog engineering: for a two bedroom house choose one from Column A; for a three bedroom house choose one from Column B," Jennifer Leach, chair of the track and of the Conference Technical Program, said. "Recent years have seen a boom in energy efficient solutions for the savvy, fiscally-conscience home owner. From glazing to water heating to lighting, speakers in this track are going to provide updates on the latest advances for the residential market."

Other sessions that incorporate residential are:

Residential Smart Appliances: Enabling Electric Grid Resilience and Demand Response
Heat Pump Applications for Domestic Hot Water
Considering Occupancy Behavior in Design and Operation for Residential Buildings
Challenges and Opportunities in Residential Construction
How Can ASHRAE Help Provide Affordable High Performance Residential Buildings in Countries with Developing Economies?
Net Zero Energy Home Strategies from Coast to Coast
An Assessment of Unconventional Heat Pump Sizing with Variable Capacity Technology
Residential Energy Savings from Fuel Switching, Hot-Gas Bypass and Conditional Demand Analysis
Updates and Perspectives on the New Version of ICC 700, The Residential Green Building Standard
Acoustics in Multi-Family Residential Environments
Metrics Matter: How Should We Judge Energy Performance?
High Performance Residential Building Applications and Issues
Introduction to Biomass Heating and Hydronics for Young Engineers

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Innovative Buildings Recognized By ASHRAE With Technology Awards

Wed, 06 Jan 2016 00:19:27 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Wind turbines, subcooled glycol/water, geothermal wells, reuse of coil condensation water and a central heat pump water heating system are among the innovative measures used in the five buildings receiving ASHRAE Technology Awards.

The awards recognize outstanding achievements by members who have successfully applied innovative building design. Their designs incorporate ASHRAE standards for effective energy management and indoor air quality. Winning projects are selected from entries earning regional awards.

First place awards will be presented at the ASHRAE 2016 Winter Conference, Jan. 23-27, Orlando, Fla.

Following are summaries of the winning projects:

Walgreens Net Zero Store

Benjamin A. Skelton, P.E., BEMP, president, Cyclone Energy Group, Chicago, Ill., receives first place in the new commercial buildings category for the Walgreens Net Zero Store, Evanston, Ill. The building is owned by Walgreen Co.

The global retail pharmacy brand set out with a vision to create a scalable retail building design that would serve as a showcase for innovative, sustainable and high performance design to sustainability, architecture, engineering and retail communities. The store is designed to achieve net zero energy use by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s most stringent definition of “renewable energy generated within the building footprint.”

Among its innovative features are:

840 roof-mounted solar panels, generating enough energy to power 30 Illinois homes for a year
two 35-foot-tall wind turbines, using winds from Lake Michigan to generate enough power to offset annual greenhouse gas emissions from 2.2 passenger vehicles
geo-exchange energy obtained by drilling 550 feet into the ground below the store
LED lighting and daylight harvesting
carbon dioxide refrigerant for heating, cooling and refrigeration equipment
energy efficient building materials

The owner set out with a vision to create a store that would be an innovation laboratory to test products, materials, systems and equipment that could be incorporated into prototype designs and retrofit throughout existing stores. Walgreens also wanted to share the results from the design, construction and ongoing operation of the store with the public, design community and even their competition. The store is designed to facilitate tours, including hosting executives and designers from their retail competition.

DPR Construction’s San Francisco Net Positive Energy Office

Dylan T. Connelly, associate, Integral Group, Oakland, Calif., receives first place in the existing commercial buildings category for DPR Construction’s San Francisco Net Positive Energy Office. DPR Construction occupies the building and has a 10 year lease with an option for 10 more years.

A national construction company, DPR sought to lead by example and transform the building industry with its retrofitted net positive 22,000 square foot San Francisco office. The office demonstrates the potential of the capabilities of integrated, innovated and replicable design, reducing energy use and improving indoor environmental conditions while being cost effective with today’s technologies. The design includes a 118 kw rooftop photovoltaic system, all electric systems, operable skylights, building management system controlled ceiling fans, enhanced daylighting and living walls.

A net positive energy office building was achieved by reducing energy loads through use of efficient HVAC and electrical systems, and by installing photovoltaic and solar thermal systems on the roof to produce more energy than the building consumes. The target energy use index (EUI) was 23.6 kBTU/square foot/year and achieved a first year EU of 20.4, significantly lower than the code baseline of 49 EUI and 20 percent net positive energy. By retrofitting an existing building vs. building new, the project reduced its initial carbon footprint by over 70 percent.

Occupant comfort and health is also a top priority. A dedicated outdoor air system delivers 30 percent more ventilation than required ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2010, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality. Heat recovery ventilators use MERV 8 pre-filters and MERV 13 final filters to filter out contaminants, increasing the efficiency of filtration and continuing to improve indoor air quality.

Another interesting feature is the use of dynamic elements, such as sunlight and plants, to activate the space, engage users and provide a connection of surroundings. Three living walls in the main lobby improve indoor air quality by absorbing volatile organic compounds while also increasing the overall wellbeing for occupants.

Anne-Marie Edward Science Building – John Abbott College

Nicolas Lemire, Ing., HFDP, president/principal, Pageau Morel and Associates, Montreal, Quebec, receives first place in the new educational facilities category for the Anne-Marie Edward Science Building at John Abbott College, Sainte- Sainte-Anne-De-Bellevue, Quebec. The building is owned by the college.

The contemporary six-story facility is named after a victim of a 1989 shooting at Ecole Polytechnique who was a science graduate of John Abbott. Anne-Marie Edward had been pursuing an engineering degree, and the community felt that through engineering, the pavilion demonstrated how humans are essential to environmental sustainability using applied knowledge and technology.

Energy diversification is accomplished with the use of geothermal wells, electrical heating and cooling, natural gas hot water heating and solar preheating. Potable water consumption is reduced with the use of low flow plumbing fixtures and resources are maximized through reuse and recuperation:

reuse of return air as compensation air in laboratories
reuse of coil condensation water to humidify exhaust air
recuperation on both general and laboratory exhausts
recuperation through heat pump extraction and storage in stratified tanks
recuperation of rainwater and fan-coil condensation water.

Laboratory ventilation requirements and large glazing surfaces can have devastating effects on energy efficiency. Nonetheless, the building’s actual energy use is 45 percent lower than the baseline case and 10 percent lower than the proposed simulation.

Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) Airport Pre-Conditioned Air

Ken Warren, P.E., capital project manager, Port of Seattle (Wash.), receives first place in the new industrial facilities or processes category for the Sea-Tac Airport Pre-Conditioned Air project. The building is owned by the Port of Seattle.

The Port’s Century Agenda sets a vision of reducing carbon emissions and air pollutants, increasing energy conservation, being socially and fiscally responsible and exceeding customer expectations. Its Pre-conditioned Air project is an important step in meeting an agenda objective of being the greenest, most energy efficient port in North America.

The system includes a pre-conditioned air plant (PCAP), piping and air handlers to provide cooling and heating for airplanes during boarding and deplaning to reduce costs for airlines, improved air quality, reduced noise and increased energy efficiency. The PCAP delivers sub-cooled glycol/water through 15 miles of piping to each of the 73 airplane gates in the existing facility, to serve the complete airplane HVAC&R needs. The system allows airplanes to shut off their jet-fueled on-board auxiliary power units (APUs), resulting in jet fuel savings and reductions in carbon dioxide and other gas emissions.

The reductions realized through the project include annual savings of:

An estimated five million gallons in fuel; a $15 million savings in airline fuel costs
40,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, the equivalent of removing 8,000 cars from the road
73 tons of nitrogen oxides
Noise pollution from aircraft parked at the gates operating their APUs

Stack House Apartments

Jonathan M. Heller, P.E., principal engineer, Ecotope Inc., Seattle, Wash., receives first place in the residential category for the Stack House Apartments. The building is owned by Stack House Acquisition LLC.

The project includes two new multifamily buildings and one adaptive reuse of a historic building, which helped to retain some of the historical character of the neighborhood. The project covers an entire city block in the South Lake Union neighborhood of Seattle.

Innovative mechanical systems include a central heat pump water heating system in the largest of the two multifamily buildings, ductless heat pumps for 40 percent of the apartment units and common spaces, and rainwater catchment and reuse for urban agriculture on the roof. The historic building was included in the City of Seattle’s pilot of an outcome-based energy code; the first program in the nation to predicate energy code compliance on post-occupancy proof of highly efficient operations. The project also participated in a stormwater treatment pilot project with Seattle Public Utilities with two biofiltration swales providing primary treatment to stormwater run-off from the Capitol Hill neighborhood before discharging to Lake Union.

The apartments are among the most energy efficient in the Pacific Northwest with measured EUIs of 19.8 kBtu/square foot/year for the West Building and 27.1 kBtu/square foot/year for the Southeast Building.
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its more than 54,000 members worldwide focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today. More information can be found at www.ashrae.org/news.

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ASHRAE And IBPSA-USA SimBuild 2016 Conference Announces Call For Presenters

Mon, 23 Nov 2015 23:25:26 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – The ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA SimBuild 2016: Building Performance Modeling Conference has announced a call for presenters.

The co-organized conference takes place Aug. 10-12, 2016, Salt Lake City, Utah. To submit an abstract or for more information, visit www.ashrae.org/simbuild2016.

“The practical application of modeling buildings includes a broad range of professional services requiring an equally broad range of expertise, knowledge, skills and tools. This call for presentations addresses these practitioner needs,” Dennis Knight, conference chair, said.

Modeling is useful throughout a building’s life cycle from analyzing individual elements and assemblies at the beginning stages of design through measuring the performance of a building after it is constructed and using calibrated models to improve performance.

While energy may be the single-most highly visible form of modeling, it is clear that practitioners face many other requirements, such as occupant comfort (acoustics, thermal and visual), indoor environmental quality, sustainability, resilience, life safety, system design, component selection, documentation, code compliance, utility incentives analysis, and building performance rating and labeling programs, to name a few.

“This expanded scope of work facing modelers combined with integrating tools like BEM and SIM with BIM describe the challenges facing practitioners today. Through the call for presenters and invited speakers, the conference aims to provide ways to address these common concerns.”

With a goal to address the lifecycle of buildings, the overall theme for the conference is “Using Simulation to Improve Building Performance from Planning and Design to Construction, Operations and Retrofit."

The conference seeks practical application presentations on the following building modeling topics:

Energy efficiency
HVAC component modeling and load analysis
Urban scale modeling
Lighting and daylighting
Optimization
Computational fluid dynamics
Data exchange and interoperability
Energy auditing
Life cycle cost and economic analysis
Model calibration and validation
Automation and scripting
Weather data for modeling
Occupant comfort
Heat, air, moisture modeling
Uncertainty analysis
Big data applications for large scale simulations
Standards, organization, best practices and workflow for BEM and SIM
Documenting existing conditions in BIM using photographs, laser scans and point clouds for use in BEM and SIM applications

Modelers, software developers, architects, engineers, building owners and other practitioners are invited to submit presentation proposals on these topics. Presentations addressing case studies, workflow and process, cloud-based solutions, and challenges and work arounds are encouraged.

“These presentations should address the practices of building modeling using existing tools,” Knight said.

Abstracts (400 or less words in length) and a 100-word promotional abstract are due Feb. 3, 2016. Papers are not required for accepted presentation proposals.

To submit an abstract or for more information, visit www.ashrae.org/simbuild2016.

A call for papers recently closed with more than 200 abstracts received. Abstracts are currently being reviewed, and authors of accepted papers will present at the conference as well.

The conference will cover two-and-a-half days and will be preceded by two days of optional training seminars and short courses.

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ASHRAE Announces Recipients of Student Design Competition; Applied Engineering Challenge

Tue, 17 Nov 2015 23:52:45 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Heat – whether in designing a building in Qatar or a temporary structure for heat illness victims – was the focus of two ASHRAE competitions challenging students in their engineering skills.

The 2015 Design Competition focused on a three-story classroom and office building in Doha, Qatar, while for the Applied Engineering Challenge, students were required to design a collapsible portable conditioned shelter for treatment of heat illness victims. Thirty-nine teams representing 10 countries entered the events.

After comparing HVAC system options, the team chose a water source heat pump system utilizing a closed seawater loop field. The system had the lowest life cycle cost of the three systems considered. The seawater loop field provides a sustainable energy source with a low environment impact. Comfort and indoor environmental quality are easily maintained due to the adjustability of the system within the building.

The system showed a 44 percent energy improvement over the baseline. It is projected to cost $3.8 million over a 50 year period, which is $695,000 less than a variable air volume air handling system with thermal ice storage option and $220,600 less than fan coil units with a dedicated outside air system and thermal ice storage option.

To address the peak cooling load of 157 tons, students designed a thermal ice storage system, which allows the chiller size to be reduced to 100 tons while still meeting load. Although the ice storage system adds initial cost, it is shown to reduce life cycle cost because of the reduction in initial cost for the chiller and reduction of energy used during peak demand hours throughout the cooling season.

The team also designed a creative condenser water heat rejection approach, using several decorative fountains on the school grounds. The approach is unusual but has been implemented in the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha. Heat and mass transfer calculations show that a total of 240 square meters of fountains will be required.

First place in the category of Integrated Sustainable Building Design goes to a team from Portland State University. Team members are Krestina Aziz, architectural designer, Otak, Portland, Ore.; Adam Buchholz, estimator, Johnson Air Products, Portland, Ore.; Nicole Dunbar, mechanical designer, Mazzetti Inc., Portland, Ore.; Lee H. Han, mechanical engineer, PAE Consulting Engineers, Seattle, Wash.; Joel Joiner, project manager, Hydro-Temp Mechanical, Wilsonville, Ore.; Osman Sarper Kucuk; Blake Reynolds, mechanical designer, Interface Engineering, Portland, Ore.; Natalie Sherwood, mechanical designer, Interface Engineering, Portland, Ore.; Huy Tran, CLEARRresult, Portland, Ore.; and Alex Wilson, graduate student, Portland State University. The faculty advisor is Huafen Hu, Ph.D.

The team worked to integrate site location, building orientation, envelope components and mechanical systems to achieve a building approaching net zero energy. The building site was chosen on the basis of wind direction, public transportation and proximity to the Persian Gulf to take advantage of any naturally cooled air. For mechanical system design, they chose a combination or radiant beams with a dedicated outdoor air system, energy recovery ventilators and thermal storage.

Low flow plumbing was selected to reduce the building’s reliance on the energy intensive desalinated water available in Doha. Shading and orientation also played an important role due to the high solar gain the region. Solar generation was chosen for a source of renewable energy.

The team chose a pentagonal structure with an airbed and chilled pad inside. The structure was cooled by a portable air-conditioning unit with an evaporative cooling option for dry climates. The tent walls, doors and roof are thinly insulated, and also feature air gaps and layers of nylon shading material. There also is a clear plastic observation window.

The portable, conditioned structure will effectively treat victims of heat exhaustion, heat cramps and heat rash on job sites. Design criteria were developed to ensure that construction workers, who are the target audience, would be comfortable in the structure for an extended period of time.

The projects will be shared at the 2016 ASHRAE Winter Conference, Jan. 23-27, Orlando Hilton, Orlando, Fla. Also taking place at that time is the ASHRAE co-sponsored AHR Expo, Jan. 25-27, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando.

New Course on Legionella Standard among ASHRAE 2016 Winter Conference Courses

Thu, 05 Nov 2015 23:52:16 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Guidance on how to reduce the risk of Legionnaires’ Disease via a recently published standard will be shared in a new course from ASHRAE at its 2016 Winter Conference. The course is one of 20 courses being presented at the Conference and AHR Expo.

“We’ve already seen the real-life application of this standard when sections of it where adopted by the New York City Council following a deadly outbreak there,” Bill Pearson, course instructor who serves on the Standard 188 committee. “This course is designed to help prevent future outbreaks by showing the industry how to navigate the standard.”

The Conference takes place Jan. 23-27, Orlando Hilton, while the ASHRAE co-sponsored AHR Expo takes place Jan. 25-27, next door at the Orange County Convention Center. To register for the ASHRAE Conference, which includes free access to the Expo, visit www.ashrae.org/orlando.

ASHRAE Learning Institute (ALI) is offering 20 high-quality, authoritative Professional Development Seminars and Short Courses. ALI courses provide training with real-world experiences for immediate application. Attendees can earn continuing education credits. For more information or to register, visit www.ashrae.org/orlandocourses.

The new half-day Short Course, ASHRAE Standard 188-2015 – Successfully Managing the Risk of Legionellosis, focuses on ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2015, Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems, which establishes the minimum legionellosis risk management requirements for the design, construction, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance and service of centralized building water systems and components. Michael Patton, a member of the Standard 188 committee, also is an instructor of the course.

Attendees will learn how to use and comply with the standard; where Legionella propagates and who is at high risk for legionellosis; how to create a workable Legionella water management plan; and the responsibilities of project engineers and designers.

The five full-day Professional Development Seminars being offered are:

Commercial Building Energy Audits
Commissioning Process in New & Existing Buildings
Designing HVAC Systems to Control Noise & Vibration
Energy Modeling Best Practices and Applications (Co-sponsored by IBPSA-USA)
Operations and Maintenance of High-Performance Buildings

The 15 Half-Day Short Courses are:

Laboratory Design: The Basics and Beyond
Troubleshooting Humidity Control Problems
Understanding & Designing Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems
Variable Refrigerant Flow System Design & Application
Air-to-Air Energy Recovery Applications: Best Practices
Application of Standard 62.1-2013 (ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2010, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality): Multiple Spaces Equations & Spreadsheets
Building Demand Response & the Coming Smart Grid
Energy Management Best Practices
Avoiding IAQ Problems
Commissioning Process & ASHRAE Standard 202 (ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 202-2013, Commissioning Process for Buildings and Systems)
Complying with Standard 90.1-2013 (ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2013, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings): HVAC/Mechanical
Evaluation and Control of Legionella in Building Water Systems
Exceeding Standard 90.1-2013 to Meet LEED Requirements
IT Equipment Design Evolution & Data Center Operation Optimization
Designing High-Performance Healthcare HVAC Systems

ASHRAE Extends Deadline for Call for Papers for IAQ 2016

Tue, 03 Nov 2015 23:51:39 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – A call for papers for the IAQ 2016 Conference, “Defining Indoor Air Quality: Policy, Standards and Best Practices,” co-organized by ASHRAE and AIVC, has been extended until Nov. 30, 2015.

The conference will take place Sept. 12-14, 2016, in Alexandria, Va. at the Crowne Plaza Old Town Alexandria. To submit an abstract or for more information, visit www.ashrae.org/IAQ2016.

The conference is the 18th in the ASHRAE IAQ series since its inception in 1986 and the 37th AIVC conference. The program will focus on current and emerging definitions of indoor air quality and how they are – or could be – implemented in government policies and in standards for the design and operation of buildings and other indoor environments used worldwide. IAQ 2016 will also highlight best practice solutions that go beyond existing minimum requirements.

Authors are invited to submit papers on the following topics and others appropriate to the Conference theme:

Definitions and metrics
- Perception vs. performance
- Monetization of IAQ
- DALY (disability adjusted life years) and related approaches
- Task performance/productivity
- Integrated IEQ metrics
Regulatory vs. voluntary compliance for achieving IAQ
IAQ certification programs
Low energy/high performance buildings and IAQ
IAQ in sustainable building programs
Interactions: IEQ, climate change, energy efficiency
Monitoring
- Sensors and big data
- Post occupancy evaluations
Best practices
- Case studies with data
- Design, construction, operation
- Commissioning
Ventilation and infiltration
- IAQ, energy and moisture impacts
- Mechanical and natural ventilation performance
- IEQ and natural ventilation
- IAQ and building/ductwork airtightness
Residential IAQ standards and policies
IAQ in Developing Economies
IAQ in mobile environments: aircraft, trains, ships, motor vehicles

Abstracts are due Nov. 30, 2015. Upon acceptance, papers are due March 14, 2016.
The conference program will include internationally acclaimed keynote speakers, original peer reviewed papers and the latest in indoor environmental quality control, plus invited speakers, workshops and panel discussions. A call for presenters will be announced after the call for papers closes. Invited speakers and keynote speakers will be announced.

The Indoor Air Quality Association and the Indoor Environmental Quality Global Alliance are partnering organizations.

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ASHRAE Celebrates Future of Engineering Innovation as Solar Decathlon Sponsor

Fri, 30 Oct 2015 22:50:46 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Innovative systems and interaction with future leaders of the built environment industry were among the highlights for ASHRAE members who took part in the recent U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

As a sponsor, ASHRAE helped fund events at the Decathlon, which took place Oct. 8-18, 2015, at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, Calif. ASHRAE has been involved in the event for some 10 years.

The Decathlon challenges collegiate teams to design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive. Stevens Institute of Technology won top honors overall, sweeping all four juried categories, by designing, building, and operating the most cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive solar powered house.

ASHRAE provided a judge on the engineering jury, with other juries focused on architecture, market appeal and communications. Ginger Scoggins, P.E., is ASHRAE Region IV director and regional chair on the Board of Directors. Michael J. Brandemuehl, Ph.D., P.E., a former director-at-large on the ASHRAE Board of Directors also served as a judge.

“It was extremely enjoyable,” Scoggins said. “The enthusiasm of the students and the systems that they included in their houses were very innovative! These kids worked on these houses for two years and raised money to cover the costs of construction and shipment, which ran in the $300,000 range for most of the homes.”

Scoggins said some of the innovative systems she saw included:

Houses designed to withstand natural disasters (100 percent waterproof up to 4’ above grade)
Windows with the same thermal resistance as typical building walls
Grey water and rainwater collection and treatment systems, some with heat recovery
Radiant heating and cooling systems – both floors and ceilings
Evaporative cooling systems that displace and enhance conventional air conditioners
Lots of heat pump technologies for both water heating and space conditioning
Phase change material for energy storage
Thermal energy storage using water tanks, including one integrated with rainwater collection
A freeze tolerant solar water heating system
Integrated solar PV and water heating equipment
PV cells integrated into awnings and building glass
A forward looking electrical system with both AC and DC distribution
A variety of smart home energy monitoring, control, and dashboard systems

ASHRAE also sponsored a lunch for teams based in its Region X, which included the University of California, Irvine; Chapman University; Irvine Valley College; and Saddleback College.

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2016 New Face of Engineering Award - Application Open

Tue, 27 Oct 2015 19:58:15 GMT

You could be the ASHRAE 2016 Face of Engineering! The New Faces of Engineering recognition program is part of National Engineers Week—sponsored by DiscoveryE —a coalition of engineering societies, major corporations and government agencies. Engineers Week, February 21-27, 2016, promotes New Faces to provide incentive to those in college and inspire even younger students to consider engineering careers. Learn More >>

ASHRAE’s 2016 New Face of Engineering award winner will be:

Invited to attend the 2016 CIBSE Technical Symposium, held April 14-15, 2016 in Edinburgh, Scotland
Featured in the ASHRAE Journal
Promoted in YEA and ASHRAE newsletters and website

Applicants must be 30 years or younger as of December 31, 2015 and have a degree in engineering from a recognized U.S. college or university, or from an equivalent international educational institution. Send your application or nominate a colleague here by Nov. 20, 2015.

ASHRAE LowDown Showdown Modeling Challenge Highlights Industry's Creativity

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 20:02:57 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – When the smoke cleared and the dust settled at the ASHRAE “LowDown Showdown,” organizers declared the overall “winner” to be the building industry, which will reap the benefits of knowledge shared at the event.

ASHRAE’s LowDown Showdown was featured at the Society’s “Energy Modeling Conference: Tools for Designing High Performance Buildings,” held Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, 2015, in Atlanta, Ga. Eight teams with 45 people participated in the modeling challenge and presented their models to conference attendees.

“While it wasn’t exactly the Wild West, there were a lot of ideas flying around and impassioned discussion among attendees,” Dennis Knight, Conference chair, said. “The LowDown Showdown proved to be a big draw and a big success. Hopefully attendees will take the knowledge learned back to their jobs and use it to further the industry in energy modeling.”

The LowDown Showdown complimented the conference’s focus on the practical application of high performance building modeling. The Showdown challenged teams to model a net zero or better than net zero building. It gave team members the opportunity to work with the vendor/developer of their choice to showcase their abilities using the vendor’s simulation tools, innovative workflows and creative problem solving to model a high performance building while having fun. The teams participating in the LowDown Showdown were:

Autodesk
Carrier HAP
DesignBuilder
EnergyPlus
eQuest
IES
Sefaira
Trane TRACE

“From the very beginning, the Steering Committee’s intent when creating the challenge was to encourage participation, demonstrate tools’ usage in modeling buildings and have the teams present their models before their peers and colleagues within a ‘fair play’ environment for the benefit of all participants and vendors,” Knight said. “I really want to acknowledge all of the participants for their time and leadership that they devoted to their models – they are all to be commended for their successful projects.”

The modeling challenge included four categories for “judging” the models by live polling from the audience and the Steering Committee.

Knight said, “In retrospect all of the teams could have been recognized but it was decided to recognize the following:

Best Energy Use Results – TEAM IES;
Best Innovative Workflow – Team DesignBuilder;
Best Team Work – Team Trane TRACE; and
Most Creative – Team eQuest.”

Team’s models are highlighted at www.ashrae.org/emc2015.

“We learned a lot in doing this for the first time,” he said. “The extremely positive feedback from the LowDown Showdown participants and the conference attendees leads us to decide to organize another modeling challenge at the next ASHRAE conference.”

ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA SimBuild 2016 Conference: Building Performance Modeling takes place Aug. 10-12, 2016, Salt Lake City, Utah. There is currently an open call for papers until Oct. 23. For more information or to submit an abstract, visit www.ashrae.org/simbuild2016.

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Start Saving Water Now—ICC, ASHRAE Publish New Code Resource for Water Efficiency

Tue, 20 Oct 2015 20:00:44 GMT

Contact: Mark Johnson
www.iccsafe.org
1-888-ICC-SAFE (1-888-422-7233), ext. 3248
mjohnson@IccSafe.org

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

Water-related code and standard requirements will assist communities to conserve water

The International Code Council (ICC) and ASHRAE have partnered to publish 2015 WEP: Water Efficiency Provisions of the International Green Construction Code (IgCC). The publication is the most complete code resource on water conservation and efficiency. It includes water-related IgCC provisions to support jurisdictions facing critical water challenges and drought.

“The updated WEP provides the most contemporary requirements for designers, policy makers and the construction community who are looking for ways to deal with severe droughts and the need to better conserve one of life’s most precious resources—water,” said Dominic Sims, CBO, Chief Executive Officer of the ICC. “The WEP provides a concise and comprehensive resource to address the challenges associated with water scarcity.”

This compact, easy-to-use reference includes indoor and outdoor water efficiency and conservation provisions from throughout the 2015 IgCC, as well as 2015 International Plumbing Code, Chapter 13 on Nonpotable Water Systems and water use provisions from ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES 189.1-2014 Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.

“Water efficiency and conservation is a critical factor in the design and operation of buildings,” said David Underwood, President of ASHRAE. “Given that buildings consume 20 percent of the world’s available water, this update to the Water Efficiency Provisions is vital in helping our industry save significant amounts of water. It contains water efficiency provisions from Standard 189.1, which deals with all aspects of sustainable building design.”

2015 WEP: Water Efficiency Provisions of the IgCC covers water efficient plumbing, appliances, landscape irrigation, and mechanical systems. Plus, it features the latest provisions for alternate water sources like rainwater, graywater and reclaimed water. It promotes water conservation associated with both the building and the building site addressing numerous systems and components. It can be purchased online in soft cover format or PDF download.

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About us:

The International Code Council is a member-focused association. It is dedicated to developing model codes and standards used in the design, build and compliance process to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures. Most U.S. communities and many global markets choose the International Codes.

Cold Climate Challenges Addressed in New Publication from ASHRAE

Tue, 13 Oct 2015 17:22:20 GMT

Oct 13, 2015

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Buildings in arctic and subarctic climates face not only challenges related to cold but also remoteness, limited utilities, permafrost and extreme temperature shifts. Designers must meet these challenges while keeping occupants comfortable and minimizing impact on the environment.

The newly published “Cold-Climate Buildings Design Guide” from ASHRAE provides information on the issues commonly faced by designers in these climates. The idea for the guide came from a working session at the 7th International Cold-Climate Design Conference held in 2012 and co-sponsored by ASHRAE, SCANVAC and REHVA.

“Harmonizing human comfort with the climatic realities of these environments is a balancing act,” Erich Binder, who oversaw the writing of the guide, said. “Strategic design is key to building, commissioning and operating efficient and long-lasting cold-climate structures.”

A cold climate is defined by a combination of factors that create a unique set of building design challenges. These factors include temperature, frozen precipitation, wind, humidity, thermal comfort, thermal envelope/enclosure, maintainability, permafrost and frozen ground and remote building locations.

Following are tips from several committee members for designing, operating and maintaining buildings and systems in cold climates:

What happens when building air exfiltrates a building envelope in cold weather is similar to what happens in cooling coils in hot humid weather – understanding psychrometrics is essential to understanding building envelope performance in cold climates.
The colder the climate, the more important it is for critical equipment to be sheltered – you can’t expect service personnel to properly repair HVAC equipment in a winter blizzard.
In extreme climates, windblown snow takes on a consistency similar to sand and requires special design techniques to keep it from getting into the HVAC intakes.
The manual also covers the design impacts from non-mechanical components of a facility such as the building envelope and roof construction. For instance, snow and ice sliding down of a metal roof can shear off mechanical roof penetrations as well as hoods on the exterior wall below.
A building envelope must address all modes of heat loss to be truly efficient; ignoring any mode of loss may lead to excessive thermal transfer.
Frost can be devastating for HVAC equipment, blocking intake hoods, filters, coils, etc.
Design out cold bridges in both building fabric and engineering penetrations.
Avoid or minimize any external service pipe runs.
Locate air inlets and exhausts in locations that avoid snow drift and blockage.
Ensure condensing pipes never freeze and block.
Provide safe access to roof mechanical plants in all weathers – frozen roof surfaces can be a hazard.

Frank Mills, who helped write the guide, noted that the book applies to all climates that have a heating season, not just the very cold ones.

“We do cover the extreme cold climates very well, but we also have very useful information for any buildings which have heating for part of the year,” he said. “This covers a lot of climate regions – including Europe where I am.”

In addition to cold-climate considerations in HVAC calculations and system design, this book’s chapters cover sustainability, controls, building design, and commissioning, all from this distinctive climatic perspective. The book also includes an appendix with seven case studies of buildings located in cold and extreme cold climates. These buildings are leaders in their field with regard to both efficiency and cold-climate design.

The cost of the “Cold-Climate Buildings Design Guide” is $90 ($77, ASHRAE members).

To order, visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore or contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide) or fax 678-539-2129.

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Updates on ASHRAE Standards, Publications Featured in 2016 Winter Conference Tech Program

Mon, 05 Oct 2015 17:23:31 GMT

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – The most up-to-date information on the standards that guide industry technology, along with presentations focused on upcoming ASHRAE publications, is featured at the ASHRAE 2016 Winter Conference.

The ASHRAE Conference takes place Jan. 23-27, Orlando Hilton, while the ASHRAE co-sponsored AHR Expo takes place Jan. 25-27, next door at the Orange County Convention Center. To register for the ASHRAE Conference, which includes free access to the Expo, visit www.ashrae.org/orlando. Information about the Expo can be found at www.ahrexpo.com.

The Technical Program features eight tracks, some 100 sessions and more than 300 speakers. It runs Sunday, Jan. 24 through Wednesday, Jan. 27, and offers over 200 Professional Development Hours, as well as Continuing Education Units, which can be applied toward a Professional Engineering license in many states, including the state of Florida.

Among the sessions are several providing updates on ASHRAE and industry standards and publications.

“Since ASHRAE is the leader in HVAC&R standards and guidelines, these sessions are a hot topic for attendees,” Jennifer Leach, Conference chair, said. “This year, we will focus on some international standards like EU Qualicheck and the International Institute of Refrigeration as well as ASHRAE standards related to environmental quality, energy and Legionella. Attendees can use the information shared through the Technical Program while walking the Expo floor to see how it directly impacts the development of technology.”

Among the standards addressed in the program are ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 205, Standard Representation of Performance Simulation Data for HVAC&R and Other Facility Equipment; ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 188-2015: Legionellosis: Risk Management for Building Water Systems; the ICC/ASHRAE 700 National Green Building Standard; the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) sponsored by ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects, the International Code Council, the Illuminating Engineering Society and the U.S. Green Building Council and its inclusion of ANSI/ASHRAE/ICC/IES/USGBC Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings; and bi-national ground loop heat exchanger/ground-source heat pump standards.

Publication updates include the Combined Heat and Power Design Guide (slated for publication in May 2015), the Cold Climate Buildings Design Guide, and the ASHRAE Survival Guide to Design-Build.

The Conference also features several innovative sessions in the Cutting Edge and International Design tracks as well as residential programs, numerous refrigerant update presentations, especially on low global warming potential, and fundamentals, applications, systems and equipment sessions.

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New ASHRAE Guideline Focuses on Optimum Facility and System Operation

Tue, 29 Sep 2015 17:25:18 GMT

Sep 29, 2015

Contact: Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ATLANTA – Helping commissioning providers ensure optimized operation of their facilities and systems is the focus of a newly published guideline from ASHRAE.

ASHRAE Guideline 0.2-2015, Commissioning Process for Existing Building Systems and Assemblies, outlines a systematic quality-oriented process that improves the performance and sustainability of existing facilities. This roadmap includes planning, assessing, investigating, implementing, verifying and documenting performance to meet operational requirements.

“Guideline 0.2 provides commissioning providers with the latest tools needed to address the growing market of commissioning existing buildings that require improvements to reduce energy consumption, improve occupant comfort and increase operational efficiency,” Tom Cappellin, vice chair of the committee that wrote the guideline, said.

The step-by-step process guides owners and facility managers through the process of ensuring optimum effectiveness from their facility for the lowest investment and provides the tools to ensure those benefits last for the life of the building.

Guideline 0.2 is intended for use by owners, facility decision makers and commissioning providers who are seeking to achieve goals as identified in the owner’s “current facility requirements.”

It expands on the commissioning principles developed in ASHRAE Guideline 0. Guideline 0.2 includes 10 sections that explain recommended steps to apply the existing building commissioning process, as well as 23 informative annexes that explain how the process steps can be organized into a comprehensive set of activities and commissioning documents.

The annexes include flow charts, costs/benefits information, RFQ and team selection information, and guidance on preparing various commissioning reports. Many of the annexes include links to example documents prepared for actual projects.

Other commissioning guidance from ASHRAE includes Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process; Guideline 1.1-2007, HVAC&R Technical Requirements for the Commissioning Process; and Guideline 1.5-2012, The Commissioning Process for Smoke Control Systems; and Standard 202-2013, Commissioning Process for Buildings and Systems.

ASHRAE also is working on several other guidelines related to commissioning: Guideline 1.2P, The Commissioning Process for Existing HVAC&R Systems; Guideline 1.3P, Building Operation and Maintenance Training for the HVAC&R Commissioning Process; and Guideline 1.4P, Procedures for Preparing Facility Systems Manuals.

The cost of ASHRAE Guideline 0.2-2015, Commissioning Processes for Existing System and Assemblies, is $72 ($61, ASHRAE members).

To order, visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore or contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide) or fax 678-539-2129.

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Reports Estimate Over 100,000 New HVACR Mechanics and Installers Needed in Next Seven Years Due to Growth and Retirements

Tue, 22 Sep 2015 17:27:09 GMT

Contact: Kari Arfstrom
Executive Director, HVACR Workforce Development Foundation
Direct: 703.465.1397

Contact: Jodi Scott
ASHRAE Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

Arlington, VA – The HVACR Workforce Development Foundation released three new reports and accompanying executive summary today confirming that demand outstrips the supply of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration employees. In particular, mechanics and installers are in critical shortage in most areas of the nation. ASHRAE is a member of the Foundation.

Due to the increased growth in the sector and the ongoing retirement of Baby Boomers, HVACR programs in technical and community colleges are not filling the seats available to meet the current and anticipated demand. HVACR employers are having a difficult time filling positions, especially for refrigeration and HVAC technicians, respectively 44 and 36 days longer than the national average of 29 days for similar positions.

“HVACR programs in the U.S. and Canada are seeking new students, whether you are a recent high school graduate, veteran or second-career adult,” said Kari M. Arfstrom, executive director of the HVACR Foundation. “With HVACR certifications or an associate’s degree, new employees can be assured of a solid middle class job that cannot be off shored, is high tech and offers better than average pay.”

Almost half of all mechanics and installers will retire in the next decade according to the new research, but post-secondary HVACR programs are not filling the seats needed to support these jobs. The reports detail the opportunities available for HVACR workers and address the unique issues constraining the pipeline for these roles. Concluding the analysis of supply and demand is the introduction of a North American Plan to reduce the employment gap.

An executive summary of the three reports, The HVACR Workforce: Demand Heats up as Supply Melts Away, is available on the HVACR Foundation’s website www.CareersinHVACR.org.

The summary is based on the three commissioned reports:

The Next Generation of HVACR Installers and Technicians: What instructors are saying and what needs to be done, the first-ever survey of instructors in HVACR programs in U.S. and Canada.
Heating up: The Sweltering Demand for Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Workers, prepared by Burning Glass Technologies.
A Labour Market Investigation of the HVACR Sector in Canada, by Prism Economics and Analysis.

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About HVACR Workforce Development Foundation
The HVACR Workforce Development Foundation is dedicated to leading an industry effort to develop and promote educational projects, programs, and partnerships to attract committed and skilled employees to a career in HVACR. The Foundation’s objectives are to raise the awareness of the HVACR industry and the importance it plays in daily lives; to create interest in the HVACR industry as an attractive and profitable career choice; and to enhance the quality and quantity of available workforce for the HVACR industry.

For more information, including the eight funding organizations, please visit www.CareersinHVACR.org