Tag Archives: ASHRAE

Snippets – Software and Online Tools

by energy, snippets • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

dividing-line2Announced in late 2012, the Center for the Built Environment has developed a web-based thermal comfort tool, which is now available for use: http://cbe.berkeley.edu/comforttool/. From the email announcement, “this free online tool is useful for performing and visualizing comfort calculations according to ASHRAE Standard 55-2010. The tool has been validated against the official ASHRAE Thermal Comfort tool.”

dividing-line2

There is now a free, open source plugin for Grasshopper called Ladybug that “allows you to import and analyze EnergyPlus weather data (epw) in Grasshopper and draw diagrams like sun-path, wind-rose, radiation-rose,” can “run radiation analysis, shadow studies, and view analysis,” and then show the results inside Grasshopper, according to the announcement in early 2013. The tool was developed by a graduate student from the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania.

dividing-line2

Assorted Links

by links • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A climate skeptic, Representative John Shimkus of Illinois, seeks the House Energy and Commerce Committee chairmanship.

San Francisco transportation officials are facing a shortfall of at least $137 million as they try to move forward with plans for a new subway tunnel for the city’s light-rail service.

Several glazing industry associations successfully appealed changes to ASHRAE Standard 90.1 that would have reduced the amount of glass allowed in commercial building envelopes.

– – –

For The Truly Nerdy – An ASHRAE Download

2
by data sources, energy • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So, yes, I have to out myself as one of the truly nerdy…

– – –

Image credit: ASHRAE

From the ASHRAE website:

To promote energy efficiency, ASHRAE and the US Department of Energy are making Standard 90.1-2007 (I-P Edition) available for free download.

Standard 90.1 has been a benchmark for commercial building energy codes for over 35 years. It is an indispensable reference for engineers and other professionals involved in the design of buildings and building systems. The 2007 edition serves as the basis of many building codes.

You can download the free pdf document here.

– – –

For those that like to know what acronyms mean, ASHRAE stands for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers. Their motto is now “Advancing HVAC&R to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world.” A cool bunch of very nerdy engineers – you can find out more about the organization here.

I would also like to add that ASHRAE is very generous with their support of students interested in buildings and energy.

– – –