Features Net Zero
ASHRAE recognized for energy savings at annual meeting

Raising efficiency to new levels was the focus of ASHRAE’s 2010 Annual Conference held in Albuquerque, New Mexico from June 26-30. The meeting also saw the induction of the Society’s first female president, Lynn G. Bellenger.

One of the conference highlights included ASHRAE’s receipt of ENERGY STAR in recognition of energy savings following the 2008 renovation of ASHRAE Headquarters in Atlanta. To achieve this, ASHRAE reduced its estimated annual energy usage by more than 32.5% through enhancements to the building envelope and use of the following systems: a dedicated outside air system with energy recovery; ground-source heat pumps; and mini-split systems with heat recovery.

Together, ASHRAE and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) celebrated the 35^th anniversary of publication of its energy conservation standard, now known as “ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings”. Developed in response to the 1970s energy crisis, ASHRAE says Standard 90 has become the basis for building codes, and the standard for building design and construction throughout the U.S.

ASHRAE announced that it had met its Research Promotion fundraising goal by hitting the $2,075,000 mark. The figure represents a 2% increase over last year, according to the organization. ASHRAE says that its Research Promotion program has supported more than 700 projects in the last 50 years, addressing areas such as indoor air quality, refrigeration and energy efficiency.

Conference attendees also received an update on the Building EQ program, which currently is a pilot program designed to encourage the building industry to cut energy use and costs. Seventeen provisional assessors have spent the last couple of months assessing energy use, which is then provided in a scale to convey a building’s energy use in comparison to similar buildings, occupancy types and climate zone. 

The conference included technical program sessions, which gave attendees a first look at proposed Standard 90.1-2010, retrofitting HVAC in older buildings for higher efficiency, evaluating the performance of existing buildings, evaporative cooling in high and dry climates, natural refrigerants, BIM load calculations, retrocommissioning, HVAC equipment needs for net-zero-energy homes, energy efficiency through building controls and building energy simulation.  All of these sessions and others are available in the Albuquerque Virtual Conference at www.ashrae.org/NewMexicoVirtual.

ASHRAE holds its 2011 Winter Conference from Jan. 29-Feb. 2 in Las Vegas, accompanied by the AHR Expo from Jan. 31-Feb. 2. For more information, visit www.ashrae.org/lasvegas.

July 15, 2010  By  John Gilson