ASHRAE ’08: Reaching New Heights

ATLANTA – Major announcements at ASHRAE’s 2008 Winter Meeting included free electronic distribution of the Advanced Energy Design Guide series, publication of the 2007 energy conservation standard from ASHRAE and IESNA, and signing of memorandums of understanding with the Brazil Green Building Council and the Building Owners and Managers Association.

More than 2,700 people attended the meeting, held Jan. 19-23, New York City. Held in conjunction with the meeting was the Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition, which set a new attendance record with 39,298 registered visitors (excluding exhibitors). Records for a Northeast HVAC&R event also were set with total number of exhibitors of 1,885 and square footage of exhibit space of 363, 505.

Centered on the theme Reaching New Heights, a nod to the skyscraper skyline of New York City, the ASHRAE meeting offered a technical program with more than 130 sessions, 21 educational courses and social events. The meeting also featured more than 500 meetings of technical, standards and standing committees, developing guidance for the future of the industry and ASHRAE.

“ASHRAE hit new heights at this meeting in regard to driving the industry forward through our distribution of technical information, educational offerings and networking opportunities,” ASHRAE President Kent Peterson said. “Being surrounded by the thousands of buildings in New York City was a great reminder that ASHRAE and our industry must truly aim to reach new heights in creating high performing buildings. The accomplishments at this meeting certainly helped move us along the sustainability path.”

At the meeting, President Peterson debuted a new video that highlights how existing design and technology can be used in creating net-zero-energy buildings. The video and his state-of-the-Society address can be found at www.ashrae.org/peterson.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] “Since we last met in June, oil has hit the $100-per-barrel milestone,” he said in his speech. “As you recall, we were concerned in 2004 when the price of oil roughly doubled in a year to $55 per barrel. Rising energy costs and the increased global awareness of the potential impact of climate change continues to drive home the message that low-energy, environmentally responsible, high-performance buildings are the future.”

Meeting highlights include the technical program, with its theme of Reaching New Heights in Net-Zero Energy Design, featuring more than 130 sessions with presentation of 59 papers. The most well-attended sessions dealt with net-zero-energy design, exergy, designing for mold and dehumidification avoidance and energy efficient datacom facilities.

Top best-selling books at the ASHRAE Bookstore included the 2007 version of Standard 90.1, the Handbook CD+, the Spanish Pocket Guide and the new Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 Schools.

More than 900 people attended the ASHRAE Learning Institute’s seven Professional Development Seminars and 14 short courses. The most popular courses dealt with health care, Standard 62.1 and natural ventilation.

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.

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