The High-Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCCC), established by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), will highlight the importance of high-performance buildings to federal, state, and local policymakers and the general public during High-Performance Building Week, May 23-29.
Claims that air curtains installed on walk-in cooler entrances save energy and refrigeration equipment wear-and-tear have been corroborated by a fast food restaurant’s audited energy test. The results indicate the compressor ran 1.75-hours less during one week - a 27 percent reduction in compressor run-time and equipment wear-and-tear.
Bob has received a call from the dispatcher about a system that is not cooling. The job is a small building with a 5-ton cooling unit. Bob went to the outdoor unit. It was running and all appeared normal. He went to the truck to get his gauges, and when he got back, he noticed that the compressor didn’t seem to be running.
To bring more objective standards to the hiring and promotion process, many organizations are using or considering employment tests. However, when employment tests are not designed, administered, or used correctly, they can leave employers vulnerable to claims of discrimination and reverse discrimination.
Together, residential and commercial buildings account for a staggering 40 percent of energy use in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). However, DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is developing a suite of tools to tame this energy beast - and it is free to anyone who wants to use it.
What is good judgment anyway? It’s not the same thing as sheer brain power, or mental capacity, or natural intelligence. It’s not a matter of accumulated knowledge or memorized information. It’s more than the mastery of techniques and tools. In simple terms, good judgment is the ability to see the connection between causes and their effects.
This month’s troubleshooting situation involves an under-counter refrigeration unit in a commercial application. The first technician explained to the customer that the compressor needed to be replaced. After that technician left, the customer called the office to request a second opinion.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced a decision to defer for one year - from Jan. 1, 2012 to Jan. 1, 2013 - the withholding of 3 percent tax on all payments for goods and services made by the federal, state, and local governments with total expenditures of $100 million or more. The 3 percent withholding tax applies to the total contract, not to the net revenue generated from a project.
Energy Concepts Co. is developing a waste heat powered 3-ton chiller for the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC). The engine exhaust heat powered chiller must operate in 122°F desert climates with dry cooling; it must also be lightweight, compact, and efficient.
Recent industry trends have given rise to a new generation of building design tools known as building information modeling, or BIM. BIM goes further than traditional CAD drawings by providing intelligence to building components (such as HVAC) as well as providing system- and building-wide information and awareness (system flows or building loads) in addition to spatial relationships.