February 21, 2008 : Vol. 7, No. 8	Engineering for the World We Live In
The HVAC&R Industry, ASHRAE's free weekly eNewsletter for HVAC&R professionals, provides relevant, timely information about industry and technology for people who create healthy, comfortable indoor environments.     To ensure that The HVAC&R Industry is not blocked by spam-blocking software, add e-industry@ashrae.org to your address book. Should you encounter problems reading an ASHRAE eNewsletter, you may access any issue archived on the ASHRAE Web site at this link. To unsubscribe from this eNewsletter, click here. Industry News DOE Calls On Private Sector To Build 220,000 Energy-Efficient Homes by 2012 ORLANDO, Fla.—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched the Builders Challenge, a voluntary national energy savings program calling for the U.S. construction industry to build 220,000 high-performance, energy-efficient homes by 2012. The plan calls for the new homes to use at least 30% less energy than a typical home built to meet criteria of the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code. As part of the challenge, 38 homebuilders have already pledged to build an estimated total of 6,000 high-performance homes. Read more Study Predicts 3% Annual Growth in HVAC Demand CLEVELAND—Demand in the U.S. for HVAC equipment is predicted to increase 3.2% per year to $16.8 billion in 2011, according to "HVAC Equipment," a new study from The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industry market research firm. The study says that unitary air conditioners will remain the largest segment in the cooling equipment industry, accounting for more than 70% of total demand in 2011. Absorptive liquid chilling systems are expected to have the largest gains in demand through 2011. Read more Researchers Develop Wind-Powered AC System JAIPUR, India—Researchers at the Malaviya National Institute of Technology in India have designed a natural, passive method for keeping indoor environments cool during hot days. The system, designed for use in commercial buildings, integrates a wind tower and solar chimney into the building's architecture. The stone-covered wind tower provides a draft of air cooled by the stones that flows through windows upward through the building. The draft pushes the hotter inside air to the top of the building, where it quickly escapes through the chimney's large black, thermally conducting panels. The details of the design are published in the current (Volume 1, Number 1, 2008) issue of the International Journal of Sustainable Design. Read more Rapid Growth of ENERGY STAR® Buildings in 2007 WASHINGTON, D.C.—With the addition of more than 1,400 buildings in 2007, the number of facilities that have earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ENERGY STAR® certification now exceeds 4,200. The EPA announced that the number of commercial buildings and manufacturing plants to earn the ENERGY STAR label increased by 25% in the last year. Read more Rose Rotana Tower in Dubai Is World's Tallest Building Built in 2007 DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—At 1,092 ft (333 m) high, Rose Rotana Tower in Dubai leads the list of the 10 tallest buildings completed in 2007, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) reported. The tower has 72 stories and 480 suites. The tower is also regarded as the world's tallest single-use hotel building. The Middle East has the most buildings in the council's annual tallest buildings list. Four out of the 10 tallest buildings built during 2007 are located in the UAE and Bahrain. The New York Times Building in the United States (at 1,047 ft [319 m]) and the China International Center Tower (883 ft [269 m]) were the second and third tallest buildings built in 2007, respectively. Read more ASHRAE News Indoor Air Quality Guide Draft Review Begins The 60% Review Draft for the Indoor Air Quality Guide: Best Practices for Design, Construction and Commissioning will be available for review and feedback until March 7. All remarks must be received by that date. Once received, the remarks will be reviewed, compiled, and responded to in a single Summary Response document posted on the ASHRAE Special Projects Web page. To participate in the review, click here. The review process instructions and input form, as well as a copy of the document for review (in a PDF file), are available for download in the section for this guide. Read more Feature of the Week Designing a Dedicated Outdoor Air System With Ceiling Radiant Cooling Panels By Jae-Weon Jeong, Ph.D., Associate Member ASHRAE; and Stan Mumma, Ph.D., P.E., Fellow ASHRAE According to the authors, The concept of a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) with parallel sensible cooling was born from the decoupled system concept, which entails decoupling of ventilation and air-conditioning functions, or decoupling of sensible and latent load functions. In this article, a design example of a general DOAS/CRCP (ceiling radiant cooling panel) system is presented.   This article originally was published in ASHRAE Journal in October 2006. Click here to download the article. It will be available here through March 6. After March 6, access to the article from this eNewsletter will no longer be available. It will remain available for free download by Members here and for purchase by nonmembers in the ashrae.org bookstore. Product News Rooftop Unit From Lennox DALLAS—Lennox introduces the Strategos™ rooftop unit for light commercial applications. It has efficiency ratings of up to 14.3 EER and 16.1 SEER. It features an optional MSAV™ (multistage air volume) supply fan. The fan technology is designed to allow the unit to conserve energy during partial cooling operation while still meeting comfort requirements. Read more ERV From Munters GLENDALE HEIGHTS, Ill.—The new DryCool ERV from Munters combines desiccant dehumidification with energy recovery. The unit supplies 100% makeup air using energy recovery from the exhaust air stream. It also provides packaged direct expansion cooling. Dehumidification is provided by a space humidistat. Read more VRV System From Daikin CARROLLTON, Texas—Daikin AC (Americas) introduces the VRV III system as an alternative to traditional central plant technology for large-scale building applications. The system features advanced zoning capability with up to 200% diversity, a refrigerant auto-charge function and long piping length. It uses the company's inverter compressor technology. Read more Subscription Management American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is an international membership organization founded to advance the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and related issues. Need assistance? Please use the links below or contact us by e-mail. To change your e-mail address for all eNewsletters, click here. This will not change your official e-mail address in ASHRAE's member database. This will only change the e-mail address to which your ASHRAE eNewsletters are sent. If someone passed along this eNewsletter to you, and you want to have your own subscription, click here. To read ASHRAE's media kit to learn about advertising opportunities, click here. Privacy Policy and Terms of Use • Disclaimer All contents copyright © 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. 1791 Tullie Circle, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329-2305.