ASHRAE Research Revisited

Among the dozens of technical seminars available to the thousands of building professionals attending the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) meeting and concurrent International Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Expo in Atlantic City, NJ, Jan. 13-16 was a presentation on ASHRAE HVAC&R research.

Organized under 10 subsections, close to 100 ASHRAE technical committees have been directing dozens of research projects to advance the HVAC communities’ knowledge of issues such as load calculations, duct design and fluid flow.

In the past, close to one-third of ASHRAE research funds have been prioritized for projects dealing with indoor air quality and energy efficiency, with another third allocated for refrigerant systems and emerging technologies. However, one of the session’s goals was to revisit how research ideas are generated, prioritized, funded and executed with the goal of moving toward a more effective, streamlined process.

Presenters also emphasized ASHRAE research challenges such as rising industry expectations, increased research costs and the need to investigate issues of a global nature, with research funds having slightly decreased in recent years.

Current projects receive between $18,000 and $200,000 and run from three months to three years. Roughly two-thirds of the research is conducted by universities, while approximately one-third are directed by research firms.

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