ASHRAE Offers Free Residential and Refrigerants "Mini-Tracks" at AHR Expo

The 2018 ASHRAE Winter Conference takes place Jan. 20-24 at the Palmer House Chicago with the co-sponsored AHR Expo being held Jan. 22-24 at McCormick Place. To register for the conference, which includes free access to the Expo, visit www.ashrae.org/chicago.

The eight seminars are free, and no badge is required to attend. They take place from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22.

According to Michael Collarin, conference chair, high-efficiency home materials and the drive to incorporate low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants are timely subjects for building industry professionals.

“The refrigerant and residential mini-tracks featured at this year’s AHR Expo highlight two industry segments that are experiencing rapid change,” he said. “The goal is to provide an integrated look at these two important topics, in order to equip manufacturers, designers, building owners and other users with the resources they need to improve residential energy efficiency and overall sustainability.”

The seminar topics by track are:

Residential Track
Senses and Cents: Reducing Sound, Improving Comfort and Enabling Energy Efficiency in Residential Buildings
People complain about a lot of stuff, but when it comes to residential heating and cooling systems it’s all about the noise, discomfort and forking out money to an unfriendly utility. Learn to apply the fundamentals in duct and pipe design for the benefit of your client's senses and cents.
           
Real-World Experience Providing Residential Energy Excellence
High performance residential buildings combine modeling skills, designs for sustainable performance, installation practices that implement the integrated designs and strategies that satisfy a diverse set of occupant needs without penalizing energy performance or indoor environmental quality over the life of the building.  This seminar highlights the importance of a trained workforce in meeting expected design and performance targets, shows the benefits of modeling to achieve exceptional performance affordably, compares model predictions with monitored performance in multifamily applications and demonstrates the positive impact of awareness and actionable energy data on occupant behavior.

Keeping Occupants Happy and Healthy Through Affordable and Flexible Air and Water Control Strategies
Hidden opportunities for improving home energy and environmental performance include inexpensive filtration approaches that clear the air we breathe, and simple and reliable water system design strategies that reduce the amount of hot water needed for bathing, washing clothes and washing dishes.  This seminar highlights challenges and opportunities to better understand and control exposure to ultrafine particulate matter in homes.  Domestic hot water design and control strategies to minimize the amount of water in the distribution system along with optimizing consumption requirements are addressed.

ASHRAE's Duct Size Calculator Tool for Easy, Reliable Residential Duct Sizing
ASHRAE has developed a new duct calculator tool that uses the results of ASHRAE research to provide practitioners with better and quicker ways to size/design duct systems - particularly for flexible ducts. This seminar discusses the research and methodology underlying the calculator tool and provides demonstrations and examples of how to use it in various residential applications and duct designs.

Refrigerants Track
Lubricant Changes for Low GWP Next Generation Equipment
This seminar focuses on the lubricant changes and challenges needed for next generation refrigerants and replacement for R123, R134a, R404A and R410A.

Some Low GWP Next Generation Refrigerants Will Be Flammable:  What Does It Mean to Be Flammable?
This seminar focuses on the fundamentals of flammability, issues in handling flammable refrigerants and ASHRAE and industry funded research into flammable refrigerants.  Product and standard changes needed to handle flammable refrigerants are also discussed.

Next Generation of Lower or Low GWP Next Generation HVAC&R Equipment
New lower and low GWP next generation refrigerants are being offered in equipment today in the market place.  This seminar focuses on the type of new equipment being offered with lower GWP refrigerants and also includes retrofitting of equipment with high GWP HFC’s with lower GWP refrigerants. Seminar topics include discussions on new equipment in the area of chillers, unitary, commercial refrigeration, portable HVAC&R equipment and retrofitting of existing R404A commercial refrigeration with lower GWP refrigerants.

Contaminant Control:  What Is the Same and What Is New When Using Low GWP Refrigerants?
This seminar focuses on the contaminant control needs, differences and experiences when using next generation low GWP refrigerant-containing products.

For more information about the speakers and when the sessions take place, visit www.ashrae.org/chicago.  Professional Development Hours will be available for each of the sessions.

In addition to exhibitor presentations, demonstrations and seminars, the AHR Expo Innovation Awards will honor the most inventive and original products, systems and technologies showcased at the expo. 

The AHR Expo hosts more than 2,000 exhibitors and attracts crowds of 65,000 industry professionals from every state in America and 165 countries worldwide during the three day exhibit. For complete conference and expo information, visit the 2018 ASHRAE Winter Conference and the AHR Expo websites.

About ASHRAE
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its more than 56,000 members worldwide focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today. More information can be found at www.ashrae.org/news.