ASHRAE announced a call for papers for its 2019 Winter Conference Jan. 12-16 in Atlanta at the Omni Hotel Atlanta CNN Center. The 2019 AHR Expo, Jan. 14-16 at the Georgia World Congress Center, is expected to attract 70,000 registered visitors and exhibitor personnel.

“Technology, operational demands, codes, and design objectives are constantly changing. System designers, manufacturers, representatives, and contractors must continually adapt to a changing industry landscape.” said Conference Chair Corey Metzger. “The 2019 ASHRAE Winter Conference will provide a valuable opportunity for the sharing of knowledge and information, and the technical program at the conference will provide a venue for a wide range of presentations and discussion.”

The “Systems and Equipment” track will focus on the development of new systems and equipment, improvements to existing systems and equipment, and the proper application and operation of systems and equipment.

The “HVAC&R Fundamentals and Applications” track offers concepts, design elements, and shared experiences in thermodynamics, psychrometrics, fluid, and mass flow. This track provides opportunities for papers and presentations of varying levels across a large topic base.

The “Refrigeration” track examines the significant changes on the horizon for refrigerant regulations, along with new applications for refrigeration systems being frequently applied. Papers and programs in this track will focus on refrigerants, refrigerant regulation, refrigeration cycles, and refrigeration applications.    

The “Construction, Operation, and Maintenance of High Performance Systems” track addresses why there have been numerous cases where buildings with high performance design objectives have failed to achieve targeted performance. Papers and programs in this track will focus on meeting high performance design goals through construction and operation phases of a project.       

The “Common System Issues and Misapplications” track will help professionals sort through system and equipment options and combinations and the issues that are frequently encountered with HVACR systems. Papers and programs in this track will focus on issues or misapplications that are frequently observed and opportunities to avoid these issues in the future.           

The “207.2 (55+62.1+90.1): The Convergence of Comfort, Indoor Air Quality, and Energy Efficiency” track focuses on the importance placed on optimizing comfort, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency and there are often trade-offs that must be made, including the codes and standards that create similar challenges in optimizing systems. Papers and programs in this track will focus on strategies to limit required compromises, and on finding the best set of design criteria for each building or system.

As the movement toward more sustainable buildings and net-zero buildings continues to grow, the inclusion of building integrated renewable energy systems paired with other natural systems will become increasingly common. The “Building Integrated Renewables and Natural Systems” track highlights the advances being made with respect to integrating renewable energy systems into the built environment. Papers and programs in this track will focus on advancements in building integrated renewable systems, application of building integrated renewable systems, and the use of renewable and natural systems in the move toward net-zero buildings.      

“The Engineer's Role in Architecture” track highlights the role of the engineer in developing high-performance facilities and the significant attention being paid to integrated teams. Papers and programs in this track will focus on improving the design and construction process by defining the roles to be played by engineers moving forward. 

Conference paper abstracts are due March 26, 2018. Upon acceptance, final papers will be due July 9, 2018. To submit a conference paper abstract or for more information about the conference, visit www.ashrae.org/atlanta.