ASHRAE Sustainability Standards are translated for South American market.
Press Release Summary:
ASHRAE energy efficiency and sustainability standards were translated to promote green market in South America. ASHRAE's Argentina Chapter translated ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2009, Standard for the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, into Spanish. Additionally, ASHRAE worked with Green Building Council Brasil on Portuguese translation of Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
Original Press Release:
Encouraging Sustainable Design Worldwide: ASHRAE Standards Translated
ATLANTA - Tools to help further the fast growing green market in South America have been developed by ASHRAE and partnering organizations in that region.
Two ASHRAE standards regarding energy efficiency and sustainability recently were translated into Spanish and Portuguese.
"South America is very progressive and aggressive when it comes to green building," Ross Montgomery, ASHRAE vice president who works closely with members in South America, said. "There are many green building engineering firms, contractors and vendors who are working to deliver green building design and green technology products to the marketplace. These translations, along with the cooperation between ASHRAE and other building industry groups in the region, provide new tools to help further green building technologies."
ASHRAE's Argentina Chapter recently translated ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2009, Standardfor the Design of High Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, into Spanish.
The Argentina Chapter, along with other groups including the Asociación Argentina del FrÃo (AAF), are working to increase the market for green buildings in the country, notes Florentino Roson, past president of the Argentina Chapter, vice president of AAF and a green building controls expert in Argentina.
"Making our society aware of the benefits of sustainable buildings is one of our most important priorities," he said. "The translation was spurred by our desire to save energy through responsible building. Although application of the standard is not yet mandatory in Argentina, we believe Standard 189.1 will be used as a benchmark in the design, building and maintenance of sustainable buildings in the near future."
On Sept. 2 and 3, the Argentina Chapter hosted a seminar on Standard 189.1.
In addition, ASHRAE also worked with the Green Building Council Brasil on the Portuguese translation of Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. The Council wanted a translation of the standard for use in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) rating program in that country.
"We will use Standard 90.1 to guide energy efficient practices in the Brazilian civil construction industry," Felipe Faria, operational manager, the Green Building Council Brasil, said. "The standard is used by the engineers in Brazil, but the language is still a barrier for the dissemination of this knowledge. With this translation, we believe this barrier will disappear and the professionals can project buildings suitable in our current scenario of environment concern in terms of energy efficiency, low operational costs, CO2 emission reduction, indoor air quality, etc."
In addition, ASHRAE past president Kent Peterson visited Brasil earlier this month to support ASHRAE chapters and the Society's work with ABRAVA, SMACNA and Green Building Council Brasil.
"The building industry groups in South America have a common goal - to encourage green building," Montgomery said. "We strive to work together to continue the synergy of sustainability."
Both translations are available for purchase from ASHRAE. To order, contact ASHRAE Customer Service at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide), fax 404-321-5478, or visit http://www.ashrae.org/bookstore.
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.
