ASHRAE has announced the technical program for its upcoming Building Performance Analysis Conference, which will take place Sept. 27-29 in Atlanta.

“Our goal is to serve practitioners by providing the most up-to-date best practices, work flows, and processes required to plan, design, construct, and operate high-performing, low-energy consuming buildings that are environmentally responsive and responsible, safe, secure, and healthy for human occupancy,” says Dennis Knight, conference chair.

The technical program will include 16 sessions and 41 presentations. The program is expected to be approved for 23 Professional Development Hours (PDH) as well as AIA Learning Units and LEED AP credits.

Sessions include:

• Making the Case for Energy Models in the Integrated Design Process

• Persistence of Performance: Lessons Learned from Modeled ZNE Projects with Post-Occupancy Data

• Integrating the HVAC Engineering Workflow into the BIM Work Environment

• LEEDing the Market Transformation in Energy and Environmental Design in the Built Environment Through Integrated Design

• Performance Modeling and Design: How Analysis Can Influence the Design Process

• Early Design Modeling and Performance Assessment

• Existing Building Modeling to Validate Building Performance Improvement

• Best Practices in HVAC Load Analysis

“This conference engages the design aspect of modeling and simulation,” Knight says. “The topics address the work of HVAC engineers, architects, and other building design professionals who rely on simulation and modeling tools to perform their day-to-day work and meet their standard of care.”

The conference’s third annual ASHRAE LowDown Showdown Modeling Competition is also part of the conference. ASHRAE says the Showdown seeks to broaden the industry’s ability to engage architects, engineers, designers, and energy modelers to create an effective workflow and an outstanding design in real-word building-efficiency challenges.

Participating teams in this year’s LowDown Showdown will be challenged with a real building that was constructed in the 1970s. The building has a traditional VAV reheat system in the office areas and is similar to thousands around the U.S. It is located in a challenging Northern Virginia climate, and it has large storage areas which have very specific temperature and humidity requirements.

"Real buildings provide the challenges we aspire to conquer: excessive energy, badly managed controls, and occupant behavior anomalies,” says Annie Marston, chair of the 2017 ASHRAE LowDown Showdown committee. “These are the puzzles we enjoy solving. Our mission is accomplished and we are personally fulfilled when we can help a client reduce their energy bill significantly while making their environment more comfortable."

Prior to the start of the conference on Monday, Sept. 25 and Tuesday, Sept. 26, software companies and educators are conducting full-day or half-day workshops. These workshops have limited seating and a separate registration is required.

ASHRAE will be offering certification exams at the conference for the following key fields: Energy Assessment, Energy Modeling, Commissioning, Healthcare Facility Design, High-Performance Building Design, and Building Operations. Those interested in sitting for an exam must apply by Sept. 10.

Registration is open for the conference, which will be held at the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead Hotel & Conference Center. Discounted rates are available to those who register prior to Aug. 14.

For more information, including a complete conference schedule, and to register, visit www.ashrae.org/BuildPerform2017.