ASHRAE announces rebranding at Winter Conference.
Press Release Summary:
Held Jan 21-25 in Chicago, 2012 ASHRAE Winter Conference attracted some 2,800 people and took place in conjunction with Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition, which attracted nearly 58,000 registered attendees, including record 39,000+ visitors. Biggest buzz at conference was announcement of ASHRAE's rebranding, which includes new logo and tagline. Other highlights included technical program with nearly 300 presentations, technical plenary, and 6 professional development seminars.
Original Press Release:
Return to Chicago Sees High Attendance, Rebranding for ASHRAE
ATLANTA -Chicago once again proved to be a popular destination for the 2012 ASHRAE Winter Conference, with high attendance numbers, as well as an exciting announcement about the future of the Society.
Some 2,800 people attended the Conference, held Jan. 21-Jan. 25, in Chicago, Ill. Attendance this year was higher than the past four Winter Conferences, except Las Vegas 2011.
Also taking place in conjunction with the Conference was the Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition, which attracted nearly 58,000 registered attendees, including a record 39,000 plus visitors. It was also the largest AHR Expo in the Show's 82-year history, at nearly 430,000 square feet, making it 5 percent bigger than the Show held in Chicago in 2006.
The biggest buzz at the ASHRAE Winter Conference was the announcement of ASHRAE's rebranding, which includes a new logo and tagline, as well as a move to refer to the Society as simply "ASHRAE," as opposed to its full name.
"The evolved ASHRAE brand supports our focus on improving engineering standards and our market position as a community of engineers and related professionals united by knowledge, mission and a code of ethics to design, construct and operate better places for people to live, work and play," ASHRAE President Ron Jarnagin, said.
A redesigned ASHRAE.org was also announced along with the rebranding during the Conference. The updated website provides better navigation, a better search engine and better tracking, all of which helps visitors find the information they need to support their efforts in the industry and the Society.
The Winter Conference technical program featured nearly 300 presentations, with the top attended session in the systems and equipment, O&M and high performance buildings tracks. The top-attended sessions were Selection of Proper Chiller Technology; Thermal Displacement Ventilation Applications; Heat Pump Optimization; Air Source vs. Ground Source Heat Pump Systems; Integrated Design Energy Retrofits; and Water-Cooled VRF Systems.
Other Conference highlights included the Technical Plenary, which drew 600 attendees, with its focus on Chicago's Energy-Efficient, Economic Model for Sustainability.
These, and additional sessions, from the Technical Program are part of ASHRAE's Virtual Conference, which provides access to more than 250 presentations and PDFs of posters. Register or access presentations at www.ashrae.org/chicagovirtual.
Also offered were six Professional Development Seminars and 14 short courses from the ASHRAE Learning Institute. The most popular courses were Complying with Standard 90.1-2010: HVAC/Mechanical; Energy Management in New & Existing Buildings; Understanding Air-to-Air Energy Recovery Technologies and Applications; and Designing Towards Net Zero Energy Commercial Buildings. Additionally, two new courses were offered: Basics of Combined Heat and Power, which was very well attended, and Evaluating the Performance of LEED®-Certified Buildings.
Pencil and paper exams for all six ASHRAE certifications were also offered at the Conference; 27 people sat for the exams. Those who pass the exam will join the 1,100 others who have already obtained ASHRAE certifications. ASHRAE certifications include Building Energy Assessment Professional; Building Energy Modeling Professional; Commissioning Process Management Professional; Healthcare Facility Design Professional; High-Performance Building Design Professional; and Operations and Performance Management Professional.
Top selling publications included "Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits, second edition;" ASHRAE Pocket Guide; 2012 Winter Conference CD; Standard 90.1-2010 Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings; Standard 62.1-2010, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality; "A Practical Guide to Seismic Restraint, second edition;" "Energy Efficiency for Existing Commercial Buildings: Technical Implementation;" and Standard 90.1-2010 User's Manual.
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 and sustainability within the industry. Through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow's built environment today.
