AShRAE cOnFEREncE HigHligHts Some of the 3,000plus delegates who took part in more than 100 sessions wARM Reception The 2015 ASHRAE Winter Conference managed to avoid the Super Bowl blizzard and delivered a packed schedule to over 3,000 delegates. Tim Dwyer reports on the highlights and speaks to ASHRAE president Tom Phoenix T he timing of the 2015 ASHRAE Winter Conference was impeccable. Delegates enjoyed unseasonably warm weather at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago but, within days of the show closing, the district experienced its fifth worst snowstorm on record, with almost 20in of snow falling in what was dubbed the Super Bowl Blizzard. While more than 42,000 attendees and 3,000 delegates enjoyed springlike conditions at the annual North American showcase for building services engineering, the ensuing icier environment would have been perfect for one award winner a penguin and ride attraction in Orlando, Florida, one of 60 recipients of honours and awards. Among those feted this year was the chief engineer of the Vatican, Stefano Marino, as well as a mix of students, building designers and operators. The awards were made during the opening plenary session, where there was standing-room only as delegates peered through doorways to catch this biannual state of society parade, complete with rousing video warm-up extolling the positive impact that ASHRAE members have in the community (Click Winners in Chicago, right). of Sustainable Energy Partnerships Adam Hinge, and CIBSE technical director Hywel Davies. More than 120 delegates attended their presentation on Building energy prediction and measurement: Avoiding fantasy and heading toward fact. This considered the tools and systems used to predict and report on building energy use, explored why forecasts were often incorrect, and what measures could be taken to close the performance gap. Hinge shared work he had led on at the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation. The report Building Energy Rating Schemes Around the World: Assessing Issues and Impacts concludes that building energy rating programmes should not be viewed by policymakers as the ultimate goal, but integrated into wider policies. These could be energy efficiency requirements, code enforcement, financial incentives and communication strategy. AShRAE and biM When I managed to catch up briefly with ASHRAE president Tom Phoenix, I asked him why ASHRAE had apparently not made any strong movement in BIM was it an area where ASHRAE had decided to bide its time? Evangelist ASHRAE President Tom Phoenix handed the final award to CIBSE member, and ASHRAE past president, Kent Peterson. He received the John F James International Award, which recognises those who have done the most to enhance ASHRAEs international presence. Kent is widely recognised as an evangelist of interdisciplinary working and continues in his volunteer and professional work to further the practical comprehension and application of benchmarks. He was instrumental in linking CIBSEs eor Rmade winners in cHicago ASHRAE executive vice-president Jeff Littleton delivers upbeat ASHRAE messages at Chicago conference CIBSE President Peter Kinsella (right) presents ASHRAE president Tom Phoenix with a special certificate recognising his successful application to become a CIBSE Fellow The volunteers at the Women in ASHRAE breakfast event truly exemplify what I love most about ASHRAE people, passion and performance Fun and games at the ASHRAE Winter Conference certification scheme (the BeQ). There has been little take-up of the scheme so far, so I asked him what ASHRAE is doing to encourage more use of building certification and labelling. Unlike Europe there are no federal statutory requirements in the US for buildings to have an energy assessment. says Phoenix. We see that this has been critical to the success of the European asset and operational ratings. As a result, Phoenix said ASHRAE had invested in two technology staff members to serve as project leads on the ANSI Energy Efficiency Standardization Coordination ASHRAE past president and CIBSE member Kent Peterson received the John F James International Award Collaborative (EESCC). This group has issued Standardization Roadmap: Energy Efficiency in the Built Environment, which sets a strategic path for a more energyand water-efficient built environment. Importantly, the roadmap establishes expertise on energy benchmarking with ASHRAEs development of performance-metrics protocols. The conference recognises past members of ASHRAE who have made significant contributions in the field. It was notable that Rolla Carpenter (1852 1919) was remembered. His citation included a quote from when he worked at Michigan Agricultural College, where he oversaw the delivery of teaching buildings. He said these spaces were designed so that students might learn by actual practice more than from demonstration a maxim that many of todays colleges could keep in mind as they pitch towards an increasingly virtual culture. ASHRAE executive vice-president Jeff Littleton reported that the organisation was on track to achieve its bestever financial performance. He also announced that ASHRAEs HQ had been awarded four Green Globes in the Green Building Initiative a notable achievement given that only 3% of projects achieve this level of certification. Over the following four days, the 3,018 delegates, from more than 60 countries, took part in more than 100 sessions. One of the seminars featured CIBSE president Peter Kinsella, together with CIBSE member and managing director Phoenix asserted that ASHRAE sees building information modelling as an important tool that can enhance the design and construction process. In the area of education, ASHRAE Learning Institute offers two courses related to BIM. Following the recently updated course Introduction to BIM*, the second course, planned for a summer 2015 release, BIM: Process, procedure and workflow will provide more detail, as well as information on how to use the modelling tool. Phoenix said ASHRAEs interest in BIM was long-held, and he cited the 2009 ASHRAE free, online publication: An Introduction to Building Information Modeling, which has exceeded 4,300 downloads, and the regular autumn energy modelling conference Tools for Designing High Performance Buildings that continues to push forward the applications of BIM. He pointed out that ASHRAE had strengthened its influence in the international BIM arena by taking over as administrator of the US Technical Advisory Group to ISO/TC 59/SC 13 Organization of information about construction works. Phoenix has been a principal player in ASHRAEs development of a building a national framework to which US industry, government, standardsdeveloping organisations, and others can look to enable greater energy and water efficiency capabilities for the nations buildings. Before Tom was whisked off to his next event, I asked about the desire of ASHRAE to broaden its active membership. He said there were meetings of special interest groups, which were keen to transfer ASHRAE skills into developing countries. These have rapidly expanding economies, but often a shortage in the skills and knowledge required for sustainable development. Phoenix said he was pleased to see the interest shown in the inaugural Women in ASHRAE breakfast event. The volunteers that I saw there truly exemplify what I love most about ASHRAE people, passion and performance. They have made outstanding contributions to our industry, and Im pleased to see us recognise the growing diversity in our membership and industry. cJ * Disclosure Tim dwyer is the co-ordinating author of this course. TIM dWYER FCIBSE is chair of CIBSE ASHRAE Group and CIBSE Journal technical editor winners in cHicago The Antartica Empire of the Penguin visitor attraction in Orlando was a controversial winner, as it maintained an internal temperature of 0C throughout the year even when Florida was experiencing hot and humid weather. But it was the implementation of technology and engineering by William C. Weinaug Jr and his team that was being recognised. Their skills and knowledge enables the building to provide a suitable climate, appropriate IAQ as well as biological control for both aquatic and human occupants. In a rather cooler, climate the Centre Civique in Dollard-desOrmeaux, Quebec, Canada contains three National Hockey League regulation-size skating rinks, swimming pools, the towns city hall and library and a cultural centre. Kateri Hon and Pietro Guerra were recognised for their work on this existing 22,500m2 building in increasing the performance of the refrigeration system for the rinks and recovering the energy rejected from the centres compressors to heat the building using direct carbon dioxide heating and regeneration of a dehumidifier desiccant wheel the first time this system has been used in a rink in North America. Combined with a variety of technology and structural changes their efforts delivered a 31% cost reduction from the previous baseline and a return on investment of approximately 8.3 years.