Multiple compliance options to ensure verification of delivered building envelope performance are being proposed for the ASHRAE/IES energy standard.

A move by United States engineering and surveying licensing boards to remove a requirement for an additional 30 credit hours for obtaining licensure as a professional engineer has been met with approval by ASHRAE.

ASHRAE, the International Code Council (ICC), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) agreed to collaborate on the development of Standard 189.1, the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), and the LEED green building program.

The 2014 ASHRAE Handbook—Refrigeration, which covers refrigeration equipment and systems for applications other than human comfort, is now available for purchase. The 51 chapters include information on cooling, freezing, and storing food; industrial applications of refrigeration; and low-temperature refrigeration.

A new ASHRAE Learning Institute (ALI) course, Building Demand Response and the Coming Smart Grid, addresses new technologies and design concepts to help lead the way to how buildings and their systems will interact with the coming smart grid. The course is part of the ALI fall online series.

Nearly 1,700 people attended ASHRAE’s 2014 Annual Conference, where ASHRAE touted the introduction of a new strategic plan, creation of a new IAQ alliance, and the announcement of a milestone related to its research program.

To allow greater uniformity for building types seeking an In Operation rating under its Building Energy Quotient (bEQ) program, ASHRAE announced it is now using methodology from its standard for energy efficiency in existing buildings to calculate the rating.