|
 
|
Southeast HVAC News
|
ASHRAE Concludes Successful 2023
Annual Conference in Tampa.
The
2023 ASHRAE Annual Conference, held in Tampa, Florida,
concluded on June 28 with resounding success. |
The event brought together industry leaders, researchers and
professionals in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and
refrigeration (HVAC&R) industry to exchange knowledge, explore
advancements, and foster collaboration. More than 2,050 HVACR
industry professionals attended the five-day conference and
committee meetings.
Ginger Scoggins, P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, took office as the 2023-24
ASHRAE President. During her inaugural address as president,
Scoggins introduced ASHRAE’s new Society Year theme, “Challenge
Accepted: Tackling the Climate Crisis.” She highlighted the climate
change migration that has taken place globally in the past 50 years
and spoke about ASHRAE’s commitment to providing resources and
thought leadership in global building decarbonization.
“We have worked to integrate a carbon-reduction focus throughout our
ASHRAE committees, councils, and leadership and provide our industry
with a clear indication of our commitment to this issue,” said
Scoggins. “We have several other initiatives underway, with a plan
for their completion during this society year. ASHRAE has accepted
the challenge of our time…and we need you to join us.”
Scoggins’ presidential address manuscript and presentation can be
found at
ashrae.org/president.
ASHRAE also announced the approval of its much anticipated pathogen
mitigation standard, ASHRAE Standard 241, Control of Infectious
Aerosols. This groundbreaking standard is a major step forward in
reducing the risk of infectious disease spread in buildings.
Standard 241 is available for
presale now.
During the President’s Luncheon, ASHRAE presented a special
Presidential Certificate of Honor to former White House COVID-19
Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha for his advocacy during the
pandemic that led to greater White House indoor air quality
investments including the release of a National COVID-19
Preparedness Plan and the Clean Air in Buildings Challenge. In his
acceptance speech, Dr. Jha praised ASHRAE’s leadership through the
development of Standard 241 to improve indoor air quality as a
critical public health intervention in controlling the spread of
infectious disease.
Story
continues below ↓
advertisement
| your
ad here
“This effort to try to
improve indoor air quality and reduce the burden of respiratory
pathogens is something we have talked about at the White House – a
lot of experts have been talking about it,” said Jha. “Talking is
important, but what ASHRAE did over the last six months in building
out Standard 241, that just got approved, fundamentally changes the
game. It is one of the most important public health interventions I
have seen in years, if not decades. It is really heartening to see
this organization take a central role in tackling the biggest
challenges facing human health in the U.S. and around the world.”
During the plenary session, Jeff Littleton, ASHRAE Executive Vice
President and Secretary, reported on the Society’s current
initiatives and in his farewell address, outgoing 2022-23 ASHRAE
President Farooq Mehboob reflected on his presidential year and the
accomplishments realized through the 2022-23 Society theme,
“Securing Our Future.”
“In my inaugural presidential address, I spoke about the era of
unpredictability that we are facing,” said Mehboob. “I reminded you
that the future does not belong to those who sit and watch, but
instead we must seek it create it and secure it. I have been amazed
by the dedication of our volunteers and staff who have tirelessly
worked to move our society forward and secure its future.”
In addition to tours, award recognitions and social events, the
conference featured 90 sessions, covering a wide spectrum of topics
including energy-efficient design strategies, renewable technologies
and building decarbonization. The top technical session was the
ASHRAE Building Decarbonization Update.
ASHRAE Learning Institute (ALI) offered ten courses. New courses
were as follows: V in HVAC – Efficiently Improving IAQ using the
Ventilation Rate Procedures (Using Advanced Options for Standard
62.1-2022), Introduction to Building Decarbonization, Starting the
Path to Net Zero Buildings Using ASHRAE 90.1-2022 and Fundamentals
of Decarbonization Design Systems and Equipment Applications.
The
2024 ASHRAE Winter Conference will take place January 20-24 and
the AHR Expo, January 22-24 in Chicago, Illinois.
###
|
|
