Hospitals today are increasingly being challenged by rising patient infection rates, especially from superbugs such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). And the challenges are only going to increase as new Medicare rules go into effect in 2017 that will include MRSA in all reimbursement calculations.

It is my firm belief that airflow and air distribution is every bit as important in refrigeration design as load calculations. What good is a properly sized system that can’t deliver the air to areas that need it? Poor air distribution and airflow lead to stratification in temperature and humidity as well as poor heat transfer.

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) High-Ambient-Temperature Evaluation Program for low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants aims to develop an understanding of the performance of low-GWP alternative refrigerants to HCFC and HFC refrigerants in mini-split air conditioners under high-ambient-temperature conditions.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Building Technologies Office (BTO) recently convened two workshops to discuss the potential launch of a major research effort for advanced HVACR technologies.

With another AHR Expo in the books, it’s clear that even though the industry is gradually progressing, overall it’s ripe for innovation. Four areas in particular stand out where forward-thinking manufacturers can have a powerful impact.

What causes poor IAQ? What are the negative effects? And most importantly, what can be done to achieve cleaner indoor air? This article will attempt to shed light on these questions so we can all breathe a little easier.

Contractors, architects, engineers, and others who specify commercial and industrial boilers continually seek systems that are more cost effective, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly. The boiler industry has responded by making significant advances in both construction and design.

The new Building Load Deferment (BLD) system, from HIGHMARK, New York City, is a pre-engineered thermal energy storage system, enabling energy usage to be deferred to off-peak hours via ice storage and then utilizing that ice for the building’s chilled water system during peak hours, for energy savings of up to 50 percent.

Tucked inside a unique structure at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), two volunteers were participating in an experiment inside NREL’s newly constructed Comfort Suite (C-Suite) designed to reveal the connection between human comfort and energy systems.

For the inhabitants of a five-story building in New York City, the heating and cooling system had surpassed the point of discomfort. After an extensive remodel and update of the building, the one detail that had been left untouched was the control integration of the HVAC system.