ASHRAE WRITING, NAMING AND REFERENCING GUIDE

This Writing Styles, Naming and References document was created for ASHRAE staff as reference for creating consistent Society level communications. For volunteers and others we hope this guide is a helpful reference tool. It is not intended as a standard of communication for ASHRAE Chapters or Regions.

Writing Style

Our official resources for terms, definitions and styles are:

• Associate Press (AP) Stylebook (used for press releases and Insights)
• Chicago Manual of Style used for ASHRAE Journal, ASHRAE Handbook, ASHRAE books, standards, guidelines and technical papers
• Merriam-Webster Unabridged online is our dictionary for the ASHRAE Handbook http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/
• Merriam-Webster online is our dictionary for Spec Pubs (books, standards, guidelines, and Technical Papers): https://www.merriam-webster.com/

Oxford Commas

In adherence to AP Stylebook guidelines, the use of the Oxford comma in writing is not required.

Examples:

Oxford comma: “Please bring me a pencil, eraser, and notebook.”
Preferred: “Please bring me a pencil, eraser and notebook.”

Website

When referring to the website, use “ashrae.org” with all lowercase letters, excluding the http:// or www.

Credits and References

Citing Credits/Authors for Collaborative Publications

ASHRAE’s protocol for crediting contributors and reviewers to published pieces is as follows:

• Credit acknowledging who prepared the publication
• “Contributions by” appearing at the bottom of the copyright page

Society Theme

“Society theme” is the preferred reference for each president’s theme for the year.

Incorrect: The presidential theme is “The ASHRAE Digital Lighthouse and Industry 4.0.”
Correct: Our 2020-21 Society theme is “The ASHRAE Digital Lighthouse and Industry 4.0.”

References to the Current Society President (Naming Convention) 

When referencing the current ASHRAE president in printed materials, please use the following naming convention:

• Full Starting Society Year and Last Two Numbers of Ending Year/ASHRAE President/President’s Name/Professional Designation

Example: 2020-21 ASHRAE President First Name Last Name, III, P.E. 

References to the Past Society Presidents (Naming Convention)

When referencing a past ASHRAE president in printed materials, please use the following naming convention:

• Society Year Served/ASHRAE Presidential Member/Past President’s Name/Professional Designation

Example: 2019-20 ASHRAE Presidential Member Darryl K. Boyce, P.Eng.

Member Designations (Naming Convention)

When referencing members holding ASHRAE designations in printed materials, please use the following naming conventions:

• Member ASHRAE
• Fellow ASHRAE
• Fellow Life ASHRAE
• Life Member ASHRAE - ASHRAE members who have completed 30 years of continuous membership and have reached age 65 are automatically members of Life Members Club.
• Presidential Member – ASHRAE members who have served the Society as president.

>> In some instance, two or even three member designation may apply: ex. - Presidential Fellow Life Member

Professional Engineer Designations/Qualifications/License  

>> ASHRAE marketing will reserve the option to limited designations in printed materials. 

Certification

Acronyms

• BEMP – Building Energy Modeling Professional
• BEAP – Building Energy Assessment Professional
• CHD – Certified HVAC Designer
• HBDP – High-Performance Building Design Professional
• HFDP – Healthcare Facility Design Professional
• OPMP – Operations and Performance Management Professional
• BCxP – Building Commissioning Professional

Designations

ASHRAE certification designations should be listed after certificant names in ASHRAE print and electronic media pieces which also cite the P.E., P.Eng. and Ph.D. designations.

Please find the following related guidance:

• If a certficant also holds the P.E., P. Eng. or Ph.D. designation, then the ASHRAE certification designation should follow. 

Example:  Jane Doe, P.E., BEMP

• Multiple certification designations should be ordered alphabetically.         

Example:  John Doe, BEAP, BEMP

• If a certificant has numerous ASHRAE certifications and space is limited, then cite the certification(s) most relevant to the media piece in question 

Example: “Energy Modeling in the 22^nd Century” John Doe, BEMP

• Use http://certificants.ashrae.org/Search to pull current ASHRAE certification designation data, which pulls directly from NetForum.

>> If assistance is needed or in case of any questions, contact ASHRAE Certification at certification@ashrae.org or tkline@ashrae.org.

Degrees, Member Grades, Designations and Certifications in Bylines

• Degrees, member grades, designations and certifications can be used in author and instructor bylines.

Example: “John Smith is a certified ASHRAE Building Energy Modeling Professional (BEMP).”

• ASHRAE lists Ph.D., D.Sc., or other equivalent doctoral-level degree (some Europeans use Dr.lng.).
• ASHRAE does not list degrees at the bachelor or master's degree level in printed materials.

BACnet™

BACnet referenced with the ASHRAE logo should always carry ® mark. BACnet referenced alone should only carry ™ mark on first use within a written document.

• In trademark notices, the word “registered” should not be included.

Example: BACnet^TM is a trademark of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).