• Mixed Mode Cooling and Ventilation
• An Update on ASHRAE Standard 189
• Lessons from Europe

Details of these sessions will be forthcoming later.

Mixed Mode Systems

This is an emerging strategy that still requires some research and a bit of project specific innovation and careful analysis. The savings are there from reduced mechanical cooling and fan energy for ventilation. Care needs to be taken to avoid creating extra heating loads. The panel concluded that fully naturally ventilated buildings may not be the best solution but that a mixed mode has greater flexibility for complex zoning in buildngs. Radiant systems combined with natural ventilation are a good combination. A good source of information on this is an article by Erin McConahey or ARUP in the September 2008 ASHRAE Journal called “Finding the Right Mix”.

Erin ranks high in my book in this field, as does her colleague presenting today, Peter Alspach.

ASHRAE Standard 189

Be aware, this one is the big standard emerging for green buildings. It has had a long and complicated development history but now seems to be on the home stretch with publication expected in December of this year. This standard will codify strategies in many of the LEED categories. There will be a combination of mandatory measures, prescriptive measures and a performance option where through calculations or other analysis one must show a project meets the same combined requirements of mandatory and prescriptive ones.

I focused on the energy related requirements. This topic deserves a full article so I won’t cover the details here, so keep checking back.

Lessons from Europe

This session was dominated by a leading energy engineering frim from Europe, Transolar. Oddly, they focused on several North American buildings where they applied thier Euro-experience.

Stay tuned for my report tomorrow.  I’m off to see Al Gore!

John.