DALLAS - A range of technologies, including natural ventilation, use of grey water, and incorporation of phase change materials, were highlighted in this year’s winning ASHRAE Technology Award projects. The awards were presented at ASHRAE’s 2007 Winter Meeting being held in Dallas along with the AHR Expo.

Matt Younger, P.E., principal of Stantec Consulting, Seattle, received first place in the new health care facilities category for his design for the Washington Department of Veterans Affairs, Retsil, Wash.

The fully naturally ventilated building features large, independently operated windows that aid with a passive cooling system. The system’s design is predicted to save 45 percent over Standard 90.1 requirements, even without taking into account the deletion of comfort cooling requirements because the building is naturally ventilated.

Receiving first place in the new industrial facilities or processes category were Pierre Roussel, P.E., vice president of the mechanical division, and Jacques Lagace, P.E., vice president of innovation and major projects, at Bouthillette Parizeau & Associates for their design of the thermal plant at the Pierre-Elliot Trudeau Airport in Montreal.

One of the challenges they faced was the proximity of the air traffic control tower and the possibility of the smoke plume from boiler combustion gases interfering with traffic control activities. The team designed a system to avoid this scenario, incorporating measures such as running the boilers’ flue gases through a direct contact economizer to cool them using grey water. This also allows the system to reclaim the heat and creates efficiency of up to 99 percent.

Daniel Pare, project manager for IBM in Bromont, Quebec, received first place in the existing industrial facilities or processes category for his design for an IBM semiconductor packaging facility in his hometown.

His use of a thermal energy system with phase change materials combined with free cooling, a variable frequency drive chiller, and predictive algorithm control is said to be a first in North America. Phase change materials are substances that can accumulate and release energy during phase change.