A Bigger Box?

For those of you living in regions where it’s cold this time of year, I’m sure you’ve experienced a snowfall at some point this winter. And true to my sometimes curmudgeonly manner, I loathe snow. But so far this season, this has not been the case. In fact, I must confess that the few snowfalls we’ve had have been very refreshing. Okay, so what does snow have to do with engineering? Answer: not much, except for a state of mind.

This month, of course, marks the annual gathering of HVAC practitioners from around the world at ASHRAE’s Winter Meeting, which is taking place in Chicago, perhaps, in the spirit of refrigeration. Anyway, CSE, not surprisingly, has a strong HVAC flavor in conjunction with the conference and AHR Expo. But here’s where the typical ends. Like the effect of newly fallen snow, we’re hoping this issue—and subsequent issues— deliver a sense of freshness on many fronts.

To start, this month’s features examine HVAC systems that certainly depart from the norm. These are not “out-of-the-box” solutions, as one author notes, but examples of what these engineers say is a need for their brethren to operate in a “bigger box.” Like an Arctic blast, they challenge what one author notes as “tried and truly awful” solutions. The intent is not to insult, but like a blanket of new snow, to generate a clean mental landscape for moving forward.

Next, this issue marks the debut of a new format for the magazine, specifically themed content. A critical New Year’s resolution for the publication is to deliver better, more timely and usable information. This includes industry trends, code/standards changes, and equipment/cost changes and innovations, among other items. How will CSE deliver the goods? First, we’ve changed the editorial calendar to include a number of new departments and special reports to address these matters. For example, our news coverage this month expounds on what’s happening with the push for a separate ventilation standard for the hospitality industry (p. 13). The product section has also been enhanced, including a cost breakdown of UPS systems (p. 52) and a primer comparing pump technologies (p. 56).

Furthermore, the magazine will now feature a monthly overview examining critical markets to our readers—healthcare, industrial, government, etc. These overviews will cover a wide array of topics and tap into a varied number of sources including engineers, of course, but also other significant players—architects, contractors, owners, the government, academia and even manufacturers, where appropriate. This month’s focus is on schools, and an issue important to such facilities: IAQ. The previously noted features specifically address how good IAQ, in the context of schools, can be made without sacrificing energy conservation.

It should be noted that this CSE “vision quest” is a work in progress, with more good things to come. So please be patient and proffer your opinions, as I hope you, the readers, will help shape the growth of this magazine—your magazine.

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