Back in July 2012, this magazine published an article titled “HVAC Security Emergencies — No Terrorists Required” with very little reader response to this most serious issue. Now ASHRAE is updating Chapter 59 of the 2015 ASHRAE Handbook - HVAC Application, which covers HVAC security. And yet I still believe we are just not taking HVAC security seriously. In fact, for all those readers who are design engineers and trade contractors, when was the last time (assuming there was a first time) that you saw HVAC security on the agenda when coordinating the building system design with the other sections of the contract documents?
My guess is that the majority of building program designers has probably never seen this topic on the project meeting agenda. I will even go so far as to question whether the majority of HVAC design engineers are familiar with Guideline 29 (you will have to Google it to get the title). So here are a few security topics to add to your next design review meeting: