SP304 User’s Manual for ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2010

Attached is a Request-for-Proposal (RFP) for a project dealing with a subject in which you or your institution have expressed interest.  Should you decide not to submit a proposal, please circulate it to any colleague who might have interest in this subject.

Title: User’s Manual for ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2010.

Sponsoring Technical Committee: SSPC 55, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy

Budget Range: $150,000 may be more or less as determined by value of proposal and competing proposals.

Scheduled Project Start Date:  February 1, 2012 or later contingent on securing of outside funding.

All proposals (hardcopy or electronic format) must be received at ASHRAE Headquarters January 17, 2012.
Electronic copies must be sent to sreiniche@ashrae.org.

If you have questions concerning the Project, we suggest you contact the individual(s) listed below:

Contractors intending to submit a proposal should notify, by mail, fax or e-mail, the Manager of Standards, by December 18, 2011 in order that any late or additional information on the RFP may be furnished to them prior to the bid due date.

Proposals may now be submitted electronically. Electronic submissions require a PDF file containing the complete proposal preceded by signed copies of the two forms listed below in the order listed below.  ONLY electronic proposals are to be sent to sreiniche@ashrae.org.

All other correspondence must be sent to MOS@ashrae.net. Hardcopy submissions require 1-signed original in the same order. In all cases, the proposal must be in the hands of the ASHRAE MOS by 5 p.m. EST January 17, 2012.

The following forms must accompany the proposal:

• ASHRAE Application for Grant of Funds (signed)
• Additional Information for Contractors (signed)

Proposal Formatting Guidelines:

• Proposal Formatting Guidelines

ASHRAE reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

State of the Art (Background)
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2010 and corresponding Thermal Comfort Software Tool were recently updated and published. A "User's Manual" will be a document describing how to apply the described design processes to meet the standard in various circumstances. It will serve as a guide for self-education and training about the requirements and appropriate strategies to meet them.

Justification and Value to ASHRAE
Of the ASHRAE Standards (62.1, 62.2, 90.1, 189.1) referenced in North American building codes and regulations, high performance rating systems, design process, and educational programs studying indoor environmental ergonomics,  ANSI/ASHRAE 55 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy remains without a user manual.

The Standard is increasingly referenced by authorities having jurisdiction in both the public and private sector, and in absence of a user manual, there is increasingly a number of conflicting interpretations and applications of the Standards purpose and scope. The Standard needs to be explained more thoroughly to the engineering, architectural, and interior design community as well as those involved in codes, design charrette’s and post occupancy surveys as required by LEED™ and other rating systems.

Objective
To develop a user’s manual for ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2010, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy and the ASHRAE Thermal Comfort Tool, Version 2 including its companion Excel spreadsheet, for the purposes of assisting users in understanding the principles upon which the standard is based and to provide helpful sample calculations, useful reference material, and vital information on the intent and application of the standard in all areas of industry including its use in educational programs.

Scope
The User’s Manual will explain the rationale of the Standard in a paragraph by paragraph manner with sufficient description in words and illustrations are required to provide a thorough understanding of the Standard and software; and at a academic level commensurate with a practicing engineer, architect, interior designer and building technician and/or building commissioning agent. It is recognized that some paragraphs of the Standard are self-explanatory and may require  little or no explanations.

The basis of thermal comfort equations used in the Standard and software need to be documented and explained. Detailed examples shall be provided for determining and evaluating mean radiant and operative temperatures; and localized discomfort parameters such as radiant asymmetry, dry bulb temperature stratification, drafts and floor temperatures; all which are necessary to establish the PMV and PPD which serves as the basis for the standard.

Additionally, the manual needs to explain the combined effects of different building enclosures, external and internal geometries and interior designs with different HVAC systems and how the combined operation and management of these systems affect comfort conditions, including projects where natural ventilation and adaptive comfort are used as the primary basis of  design to comply with the Standard.

Examples with illustrations of accepted good practices of the standard shall be provided. A minimum of seven (7) scenarios of real applications (such as offices, classrooms and residential, also one example for a naturally ventilated application shall be provided with a detailed explanation of how it complies with the standard.

Characteristic examples should illuminate the role of the following factors in determining comfort conditions in indoor environments:

• Building type and occupancy that leads to certain occupant metabolism and clothing insulation.
• Geography (climate zones) that drive external thermal conditions
• Building enclosures, external and internal geometries and interior designs having an effect on operative and effective temperature and localized discomfort.
• Different HVAC systems and their relative ability to achieve compliance by compensating for building enclosures, internal geometries and interior designs.
• Adaptive comfort and compliance using of natural conditioning

The contractor's proposal shall contain a list of the issues that will be covered by the examples, including a discussion of how the examples will address each issue. The contractor's proposal shall also contain a list of the building, space and system types that will be addressed in the manual and by the software (tools), including a discussion of how the tools will address each.

The contactor shall provide the basis and proper application of the tables, charts, graphs formulas and other methods used in applying Standard 55-2010. Identify the basis, including references where appropriate, for all  the assumptions made in the Manual’s guidance and examples so that a user can understand how they were determined and by extension, tailor it to their particular application.

The contractor shall list references (both print and electronic) containing additional  useful information that is not contained in the Standard.

There is a need to explain the rationale for the formulas in the Standard. The manual will document the applications of the formulas and provide the associated assumptions and references. When applying these formulas to designs, the formulas can then be properly evaluated and applied.

The contractor must demonstrate familiarity with the content and application of ASHRAE Standard 55-2010 the ASHRAE Thermal Comfort Tool, Version 2 including its companion Excel spreadsheet. The familiarity with the standard and any published addenda must be specificallydescribed in the proposal. Means for determining the assumptions and derivations of formulas used in the
standard must also be described in the proposal. The contractor must also demonstrate experience
with building codes and the design, operation and maintenance of all buildings occupied by humans.

The contractor team members must have demonstrated expertise in

1. the development of user’s manuals and other similar Documents;
2. design practice for thermal comfort;
3. the scientific research basis for the Standard.

A diverse collaborative team including design practitioners and academics/researchers is encouraged. 

During the course of this effort, the contractor shall provide the documents described below for review by a committee established by ASHRAE. The review committee shall approve each document listed below in a timely manner prior to initiation of the succeeding document.  These documents shall be delivered to the committee according to a schedule that must be included in the contractor's proposal.

Interim Deliverables (Estimated Time Frame Below) Completion in 12 months is desired and will be included in the selection criteria :

1. At 2 months after award of the contract - an outline of the manual containing sufficient detail to allow the review committee to determine whether the scope of the manual will be adequate.
2. Three months after approval of the outline a 50% preliminary draft of the complete manual whose content should have examples of all content types.
3. Five  months after approval of the outline a 100% preliminary draft of the complete manual.
4. Progress reports at ASHRAE meetings during the project.

• Each ASHRAE Society meeting
• Monthly Status Updates

5. Two months after approval of the preliminary draft the final draft of the complete manual, incorporating changes recommended by the review committee.

Final Deliverables:

To fulfill the contract, the contractor must submit the following within 12 months of award of contract plus the time ASHRAE and its committee take for review and approval of the outline, drafts and pre-publication materials.

Native File for Editing and Layout

1. All of the text (including front matter, table of contents, any back matter such as an index, etc) in Word.  The Word file(s) must be free of conditional text, line numbers, track changes, and cross-references.  The document must be in dual units.
2. Tables must be noted in the text (where they go) and numbered consecutively as they appear in the text.  All tables must be Word or Excel tables they CANNOT be unalterable images of tables.  All table titles should be descriptive but concise, and each column should be labeled with a heading and include units of measurement and other necessary qualifying information; dual units must be provided for all measurements.  In creating tables, the authors should use only 1 point (0.014 in. [0.355mm) or thicker lines.
3. Figures must be noted in the text (where they go) and numbered consecutively as they appear in the text, but the actual figures themselves must be provided to ASHRAE as individual TIF or EPS files in Grayscale mode saved at high resolution (600 dpi or greater) and at least 4 in. size or greater.  All figure files should be clearly labeled.  In creating figures, the authors should use only 1 point (0.014 in. [0.35 mm]) or thicker lines—smaller lines will not reproduce well. The figures will be reproduced in black and white, so they should employ patterns or shapes to distinguish sections instead of coloring and shading. Each figure should have a brief legend or descriptive labels, as appropriate. Any text included in a figure (except the figure caption) should be embedded as part of the image file and not contained in a separate text box that is not part of the image file; captions should NOT be part of the image file. All figures should be provided in dual units, like the text. Providing two graphics for each figure – one in I-P units and one in SI units – is acceptable; such figures must be supplied as one TIF or EPS file with both graphics included in the one image file.
4. Works cited in the text must have reference list entries in footnotes or a references section at the end of the document. ASHRAE uses the author-date citation method.
5. The authors of the text would need to obtain permission to reprint any images that they want to use from another source; ASHRAE will not obtain permissions for them.
6. The text and figures must comply with the ASHRAE Commercialism Policy.
7. Final submission of the completed book must include 1) a CD with the manuscript in Word and the figure TIFs or EPSs, 2) a printout of the complete manuscript (text, tables, and figures), and 3) contact information for the authors in case we have questions as we edit/lay out the book.

Level of Effort
The level of effort is estimated to be 1400 hours with the total project being accomplished within 1 year of the initiation of work.  A total cost of $150,000 is anticipated.

1. The contractor shall submit a plan for producing the manual including an approach to the collection of material for consideration and a plan for interactions with SSPC-55 for discussion and feedback.
2. The contractor shall submit with their proposal samples of prior work that demonstrate its qualifications.
3. The selected contractor should consider its internal costs necessary to provide for the additional review by members of SSPC 55 as well as by members of the Project Monitoring Subcommittee (PMS).  The selected contractor shall provide at least one interim review cycle and a final pre-publication review for the PMS and SSPC members. 
4. ASHRAE will retain the copyright for all materials prepared under this contract.  ASHRAE will be listed as the author of the User’s Manual.
5. The following materials are attached to this RFP:
   1. An electronic copy of the addenda a, b, c, and d to Standard 55-2010.
   2. An electronic copy of the errata since the last printing of the Standard.
6. The following materials can be obtained from Stephanie Reiniche at sreiniche@ashrae.org.  
   1. Zip file of the ASHRAE Thermal Comfort Tool, Version 2
   2. An electronic copy of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2010.
7. Suggested Approach contingent on receipt of outside funding:
   • Review existing ASHRAE User’s Manual with respect to layout, format, and content.  Consider changes that could be made to improve usability of the User’s Manual.
   • Review the ASHRAE Standard 55-2010 and the latest published addenda (addenda a through d).
   • Review all errata to the Standard.  Estimate how these changes impact the content of the User’s Manual.
   • Submit the project files, including source documents, for publication of the User’s Manual by ASHRAE.

This is a "Work for Hire".  ASHRAE will publish and hold the exclusive copyright to the Manual, including associated software and source code. Only ASHRAE may license use of the Manual to third parties. Reprint permission by owner of copyright must accompany any material, illustrations, graphics, or photographs used from outside sources. All materials developed for this work will be treated as confidential material that cannot be disclosed to third parties without the written permission of ASHRAE.

1. Contractor’s understanding of Work Statement as demonstrated in proposal. 20 %
2. Contractor’s experience with design to provide thermal comfort in residential  and in non-residential buildings. 25 %
3. Contractor’s familiarity with ASHRAE Standard 55-2010 and ASHRAE Thermal Comfort Tool
   Version 2.0. 25 %
4. Qualifications and relevant experience of Personal Investigator and the personnel for the conduct of this project. 20 %
5. Demonstrated ability to fulfill the terms of the contract. 10 %

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2010, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy

ASHRAE Thermal comfort tool V2

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEATING, REFRIGERATING AND AIR-CONDITIONING ENGINEERS, INC.
1791 Tullie Circle, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-2305