ASHRAE Meeting Offers Eight Tracks, Two of Which Are New
HVAC Contractors encouraged to attend Winter Conference
LEARNING CURVE: Attendees at ASHRAE’s 2019 Winter Conference will have the opportunity to sit in on over 100 seminars in eight conference tracks presented over five days.
The technical program at ASHRAE’s 2019 Winter Conference will feature over 100 sessions in eight conference tracks presented over five days. Conference tracks will include systems and equipment; HVACR fundamentals and applications; refrigeration; construction, operation, and maintenance of high-performance systems; common system issues and misapplications; the convergence of comfort, IAQ, and energy efficiency; building integrated renewables and natural systems; and the engineer’s role in architecture.
The last two tracks are new this year. Building integrated renewables and natural systems will explore topics such as energy technologies, renewable energy sources, and the future of the smart grid, while the engineer’s role in architecture will examine the integral role engineers have toward the safe design of buildings and structures.
“We are very excited about this year’s technical program,” said Corey Metzger, chair of the 2019 ASHRAE Winter Conference. “The buildings industry has seen increased activity, competition, and demand due to changes in technology, operational demands, codes, and design. This event is uniquely positioned to provide industry professionals with a forum to facilitate collaboration and share knowledge for success.”
NETWORKING OPPORTUNITY
For Sheila Hayter, ASHRAE’s president for the 2018-2019 term, the best part about attending the ASHRAE Winter Conference is the opportunity to network. She looks forward to nurturing existing relationships and forming new ones with professionals in the buildings industry who are as passionate as she is about making the world a better place through ASHRAE.
“Whether I am attending a board meeting, standing committee, or council meeting, a technical committee or technical program session, or any of the technical tours or social events, I am surrounded by my ASHRAE friends who are sharing ideas, debating solutions, and strategizing for how ASHRAE can and should be the premiere source for technical knowledge within the buildings industry,” said Hayter. “This community is one of the most valuable benefits to being an ASHRAE member, especially for those who actively engage with and volunteer to participate in this community.”
She encourages her fellow members to attend the Winter Conference so that they may have the opportunity to meet with a variety of professionals and colleagues they don’t normally have access to.
“By networking with their colleagues, members get to hear from people who are doing what they do, learn about the latest trends, and reignite their passion for advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment,” Hayter said.
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She has ambitious goals for her term as president of ASHRAE. She plans to focus on educating and encouraging members to learn more about the important role buildings and their energy use will play in the future, as well as the traditional electrical grid, which continues to evolve toward a smart grid with advances in renewable energy.
“There is no doubt ASHRAE will play a key role in accelerating the use of innovative technologies as we move toward greater energy efficiency and healthier buildings,” she said. “As that role takes shape, my goal is to strengthen our leadership position by serving as a bridge that connects buildings, energy, and the environment to new ideas and technologies to advance toward a more sustainable world for future generations.”
Hayter added that despite geopolitical tides, ASHRAE’s mission and its commitment to sustainability will not waiver.
“ASHRAE remains intensely committed to reducing the environmental impact of buildings by making them more energy efficient,” she said.
CONTRACTORS WELCOME
There will be many contractors attending the nearby Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration (AHR) Expo, and Hayter wants them to know that they are also welcome at the ASHRAE meeting.
“As we work to make the built environment more sustainable, all building professionals will need to work together, as each brings their own valuable and unique perspective to the table,” she said. “Not only are contractors welcome, we hope they come.”
Some of the technical program sessions that may appeal to contractors include:
- Should Sex Sell HVAC Equipment? — Some businesses in the HVAC industry use provocative marketing strategies to promote their brands and sell their equipment. What is the most effective way for these businesses to draw the eyes of their customers?
- Life After R-404A — This session will articulate what happens when the Environmental Protection agency delists a refrigerant and what is involved in replacing it with an alternate.
- Cannabis Grow Facilities: Challenges for HVAC Design, Equipment Selection, and Operation — This presentation will discuss how HVAC cooling and heating load calculations and equipment selection differ for grow facilities versus conventional HVAC applications.
- Refrigerant Flammability Fundamentals — This seminar will cover important considerations that are unique to flammable refrigerants that must be kept in mind regarding next-generation refrigerants.
ASHRAE will also offer the following free public sessions for those attending the AHR Expo:
- Low-GWP Refrigerants: Components and System Designs;
- Pairing Geothermal and Hydronic Systems in Residential Buildings;
- Update on Global Policies and Programs for Best Use of Refrigerants;
- Assessing the Effectiveness of Economizers for De-Centralized Cooling Systems; and
- Using Air-to-Air Energy Recovery to Help Balance Comfort, IAQ, and Energy.
ASHRAE’s 2019 Winter Conference will take place Jan. 12-16, 2019, at the Omni Hotel Atlanta at CNN Center and the Georgia World Congress Center. The conference technical program is available in the ASHRAE 365 app and at www.ashrae.org/conferences/winter-conference.
2019 ASHRAE Conference Technical Tours
The 2019 ASHRAE Conference will offer technical tours of the following facilities:
• Built in 1994, the North Tower of the Omni features more than 65,000 square feet of meeting space and several hundred guest rooms, along with a fitness center, pool, and spa. The tour will include a visit to the large central plant, mechanical room, and a boiler room with three boiler pumps/VFDs and expansion tanks, two chillers with pumps/VFDs, and domestic pump rooms with controls.
• The Engineered Biosystems Building (EBB) on Georgia Tech’s campus is a biological research building that supports growth in the areas of bioscience and biotechnology and includes shared laboratory facilities for merging engineering and science disciplines. It achieved a green certification of LEED Platinum and features many sustainable elements of building design, energy and emissions, material management, and water use. Additionally, this tour will highlight the Georgia Tech eco-commons, an innovative storm water management system.
• Once completed, The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design is expected to become the most environmentally advanced educational and research facility of its kind in the Southeast. It is anticipated that the project will achieve Living Building Challenge 3.1 certification in 2020, which means the project must meet a series of ambitious performance requirements.
• The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC), the third-largest convention center in the U.S., maintains 4 million square feet of building space over 220 acres and hosts more than a million visitors each year. The technical tour will give participants a quick look at GWCC’s newly renovated chiller/boiler plant.
For more information, including tour times and fees, visit www.ashrae.org/conferences/winter-conference/2019-ashrae-winter-conference-tours.
 
Publication date: 12/24/2018
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