ASHRAE Insights

By Bill Williams, P.E., Member ASHRAE, CTTC Communications Coordinator; and Bert Phillips, Member ASHRAE,
CTTC RVC, Region XI.

In keeping with ASHRAE’s high standard for engineering excellence, the ASHRAE Technology Award provides an opportunity for members to gain recognition for their projects as well as to set an example for the engineering community on how to apply sound and innovative engineering concepts to practice.

The strength of this award program is based on the submission requirement that the concepts employed must be proven through actual operating data. And that is what makes an ASHRAE Technology Award recipient and project such an outstanding example for other ASHRAE members, associated professionals and societies worldwide as well as building and facility owners.

“Because of the strength of the ASHRAE Technology Award program, the recognition and exposure that come with receiving one are great tools to help sell the firm’s expertise when making proposals, as well as attract top-of-the-class prospective employees,” said Frédéric Genest, P.E., recipient of the Award of Engineering Excellence in 2005. “Also, it gives some recognition to the owner for his involvement in the winning project, recognition they rarely get. In short, the time spent to write the application pays for itself a hundredfold.”

Established in 1990–1991, the Technology Awards Program applies to new and retrofit applications in seven categories: Commercial Buildings, Institutional Buildings, Health Care Facilities, Industrial Facilities or Processes, Public Assembly, Residential and Alternative or Renewable Energy Use, with separate categories for New and Existing Buildings. Award applications are judged with respect to energy efficiency; indoor air quality, innovation, operation and maintenance, cost effectiveness, environmental impact and quality of presentation.

ASHRAE is seeking entries for the Technology Awards by Sept. 1, but now is the time to plan submissions for the upcoming year.

Entries must be submitted by ASHRAE members who have had an active involvement in the project. Applications are initially submitted through the Chapters to the Regional Vice-Chair (RVC) for the Chapter Technology Transfer Committee (CTTC) for judging at the Regional level. Regional winners may be submitted for judging at Society level where up to three awards may be given annually in each category (First place, Second place and Honorable Mention). Projects/applications judged to be exceptional by the judging panel are selected as first place winners while those which were excellent, but not exceptional are selected for honorable mention. At the discretion of the judges, one of the category first place winners may be selected to receive the ASHRAE Award of Engineering Excellence.

Being “best in class” does not make an application an automatic “winner” or even “honorable mention.” To win, applications must be deemed worthy of the recognition and prestige that comes with an ASHRAE Technology Award.

In general, applications selected for the award:
• Address all judging criteria, or explain why those not addressed do not apply;
• Clearly demonstrate the innovation and creativity that make the project special;
• Present one full year of post construction operating data;
• Explain significant differences between predicted and actual operating energy use;
• Are well-written, logical and understandable and use graphs, tables and drawings that are clear and add value to the text; and
• Avoid commercialism.

The CTTC RVC establishes schedules, as applicable, for each region.

Chapter entries are usually due in late February or early March (contact chapter CTTC Chair). Regional entries must be submitted by chapters to the RVC by mid-May (exact time set by RVC). The RVC must submit entries from the regional competition to ASHRAE Headquarters by Sept. 1

For detailed information and applications, go to www.ashrae.org/publications/detail/14704 or send an e-mail to rdouglas@ashrae.org.