ASHRAE Meeting focuses on improving building performance.
Press Release Summary:
Held in Salt Lake City, ASHRAE 2008 Annual Meeting highlighted opportunities for improving existing buildings. Meeting theme of "Building Performance" was reinforced by focus of ASHRAE president on operation and maintenance, introduction of sustainable footprint project, and launch of certification program for high performance building design professionals. Some 1,670 members came together to support mission of advancing HVAC/R to serve humanity and promote sustainable world.
Original Press Release:
Improving Building Performance Strong Focus of ASHRAE Meeting
ATLANTA - Tremendous opportunities for improving the performance of existing buildings were highlighted at the ASHRAE 2008 Annual Meeting held in Salt Lake City.
The meeting theme of "Building Performance" was reinforced by focus of the newly elected president on operation and maintenance, introduction of a new "sustainable footprint" project and launch of the Society's certification program for high performance building design professionals.
Some 1,670 members came together to support the Society's mission of advancing HVAC&R to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world.
"The beautiful Rocky Mountains surrounding Salt Lake City was the perfect scene for another productive ASHRAE meeting," Bill Harrison, ASHRAE president, said. "When you're in the mountains, hiking up those steep walls of rock, it may seem like the climb will never end. But when you take a step back and look at those slopes, the mountains don't seem so unbearable. With our meeting theme of Building Performance, ASHRAE showed that our climb to our goal of energy efficiency for the world's buildings doesn't look so far away. In fact, it seems we are almost there."
Harrison was inducted as the Society's president for 2008-09. Through his theme, Maintain to Sustain - Delivering ASHRAE's Sustainability Promise, Harrison will focus on operating buildings to deliver the energy efficiency inherent in their design, including effective commissioning, improved documentation, and programs to educate and certify building operators.
"We must maintain to sustain, we must train to sustain and we must influence the operation of our buildings to conserve energy," he said.
To read his presidential address, visit ashrae.org/harrison.
At the meeting, ASHRAE launched its first sustainable footprint project - designed to leave behind a lasting sustainable footprint in the cities where the Society's meetings are held. Thanks to funds and equipment donated by members and others, a solar hot water heating system was installed at the YWCA of Salt Lake City's Teen Home. More than $9,000 in money and equipment was raised to install the system, with a ribbon cutting held as part of the meeting.
ASHRAE provided four flat solar panels and additional storage capacity for domestic hot water use. The solar panels will replace approximately 100 decatherms of natural gas per year and reduce the carbon footprint for the home by over 10,000 lbs. of CO2 annually, saving the YWCA more than $650. For more information, visit www.utahashraesolar.tzo.com.
ASHRAE Learning Institute courses related to natural ventilation and solar applications were well-attended, illustrating that "technology as usual" is no longer the norm for building design, construction and operation.
Top-attended technical program sessions included Utilizing VFD for Building HVAC System Performance; Issues Update: Performance Based Energy Labels for Buildings; Improving Building Performance by Using the IAQ Procedure; Balancing Energy and Water Conservation in HVAC Cooling Systems: A Total Consumption Approach; Benchmarking Performance of Ventilated and Non-Ventilated Attics; Modeling Data Center Airflow and Cooling Performance; and the keynote technical plenary speaker Arah Schuur with the Clinton Climate Foundation.
Top-selling publications at the meeting were the ASHRAE GreenGuide: The Design, Construction and Operation of Sustainable Buildings; ASHRAE Guideline 1.1-2007, HVAC&R Technical Requirements for The Commissioning Process, ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2007, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, and its User's Manual, and ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
ASHRAE also launched its second certification program in high-performance building design with some 60 people taking part. The examination will be available on computer at testing centers in the U.S. and Canada by mid-August.
The next certification program will focus on operation and maintenance, and is scheduled to launch at the 2008 Winter Meeting, followed by a program on commissioning at the 2009 Annual Meeting. For more information, visit http://www.ashrae.org/certification.
ASHRAE will hold its 2009 Winter Meeting, Jan. 24-28 in Chicago, accompanied by the AHR Expo, Jan. 26-28.
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of some 50,000 persons. ASHRAE fulfills its mission of advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education.
