ASHRAE launches wiki site

Common definitions for terms found in ASHRAE standards and other publications can now be found.

The free ASHRAEwiki contains more than 6,000 terms related to buildings with a particular focus on mechanical, envelope, electrical, lighting, load calculations, design, water design/conservation and energy use and measurement metrics.

The new ASHRAEwiki can create custom reports of terms and primary definitions that will aid in the development of standards, guidelines, Handbooks and other ASHRAE publications. With time, it may have broader use across the industry, according to Hallstrom.

Each term in the wiki has one or more primary (recommended) definitions, in which ASHRAE standard(s) the term is used, the definition source and known legal information such as trademark registration. The wiki also lists any secondary definitions used in an ASHRAE standard or guideline, which will help with the development of consistent standards.

ASHRAEwiki terms are grouped by words, symbols, abbreviations and acronyms. Definitions that include units may use Inch-Pound (I-P) or International System (SI) as primary units. ASHRAEwiki is in English but might be expanded to other languages in the future.