ASHRAE seriously starts to promote green design
January 31, 2003
By
Canadian Consulting Engineer
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is forming a new technical c...
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is forming a new technical committee to find ways to reduce the impact of buildings on the environment.
Technical Committee 2.8, Building Environmental Impacts and Sustainability, will hold its first meeting at ASHRAE’s 2003 Winter Meeting in Chicago, Jan. 25-29.
“The committee is concerned with the impacts of buildings on the environment and developing means to identify and reduce these impacts,” Mark Case, committee chair, said. At the same time they are hoping to generally raise the awareness of engineers to the problem.
Impacts of building include biological and mineral resource depletion; environmental impacts of energy production, conversion, delivery and use, availability of future energy resources; pollution of air, water, and soil; and encroachment on sensitive habitats and ecosystems.
“One of our goals is to assess the environmental impacts of various system and energy service choices,” Case said. The committee also will work to provide information on energy resources and the various impacts of development and use of those resources. This information may be incorporated into the ASHRAE Handbook.
The committee also will continue work on the ASHRAE GreenGuide, which will provide practical information for owners, consulting engineers and others on the design and operation of environmentally friendly buildings. Publication is expected later this year.
ASHRAE issued its first Building Sustainability Position Statement last year. The statement contains measures to provide safe, healthy and comfortable indoor environments while limiting their impact on natural resources.
Copies of the ASHRAE Building Sustainability Position Statement may be downloaded for free at ASHRAE.org at http://xp20.ashrae.org/ABOUT/Buildingsustainability.pdf.
Persons interested in serving on the technical committee should submit ASHRAE biographies, available on ASHRAE Online, to ASHRAE technical services manager, 1791 Tullie Circle N.E., Atlanta, GA, 30329-2305; fax 404-321-5478; e-mail, reginas@ashrae.org.
