ASHRAE 2008 BACnet Published

ATLANTA – Guidance to reduce a building’s energy consumption on demand is contained in ASHRAE’s newly published BACnet standard.

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135-2008, BACnet® -- A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks, allows building equipment and systems manufactured by different companies to work together. It is the only open, consensus-developed standard in the building controls industry. The new standard contains seven addenda approved since the 2004 standard was published.

“The 2008 version of the standard incorporates many years of work by the BACnet committee,” said immediate past chair Bill Swan. “This includes material first published a couple of months ago. It replaces the 2004 version as the standard for BACnet technical and specification efforts.”

The standard contains new guidance related to the Load Control object, an extension to reduce a building's energy consumption on demand - a key element of the integration of energy utilities and buildings to reduce or eliminate brownouts and blackouts from energy grid overload.

It also covers:

  • The Access Door object, the first of the extensions to fully support physical access control
  • Improvements in requirements on BACnet devices
  • New capabilities such as BACnet Web Services which, among other things, are being considered for energy utility-building communications
  • A standardized and interoperable means to record alarms
The cost of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 135-2008, BACnet® -- A Data Communication Protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks, is $119 ($99 ASHRAE members).

To order, contact ASHRAE Customer Service at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide), fax 404-321-5478, or visit atwww.ashrae.org/bookstore.

ASHRAE's 2009 Satellite Broadcast Focuses on IAQ for Sustainable

ATLANTA – What’s lean and green and clean all over? Your next sustainable building project and its indoor air quality, thanks to ASHRAE’s upcoming satellite broadcast. The program, “Clean, Lean, and Green – IAQ for Sustainable Buildings,” will take place April 22 from 1 to 4 p.m. EDT.

The free broadcast, sponsored by ASHRAE’s Chapter Technology Transfer Committee with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will challenge the building community to use good IAQ practices to create a more sustainable built environment. The program will highlight guidance from the publication IAQ Guide: Best Practices for Design, Construction, and Commissioning, developed collaboratively by ASHRAE, AIA, BOMA, EPA, SMACNA and USGBC.

“Saving energy in buildings is paramount, and everyone in the buildings industry must do all they can to ensure sustainability in their projects,” says Dave Shugars, Chair of the Satellite Broadcast committee. “But sustainability must never come at the expense of good indoor air quality. Proper operation and maintenance of buildings must be combined with enhanced IAQ practices to ensure healthy, productive indoor environments.”

Participants who complete the participant reaction form online at www.ashrae.org/iaqbroadcast the week following the broadcast may be awarded three PDH credits.

The broadcast presenters and their topics are:

  • Martha Hewett, Director of Research, Center for Energy & Environment, Minneapolis, MN Practical, Proven Strategies to Deliver Better IAQ
  • Hoy Bohanon, P.E., Owner and Manager of Bohanon Engineering, PLLC, Winston-Salem, NC Improving Your IAQ and Reducing Your Energy Costs through HVAC Design
  • H.E. Barney Burroughs, Owner and CEO of Building Wellness Consultancy, Inc, Atlanta, GA Keeping Buildings Clean: Avoiding and Building Control of Contaminants to Attain and Maintain IAQ Acceptability
  • George DuBose, Certified General Contractor, Liberty Building Forensics Group, Orlando, FL Avoiding Costly IAQ Problems in the Building Envelope
  • John McFarland, P.E., Director of Engineered Systems, WorkingBuildings, LLC, Atlanta, GA, Integrating Good IAQ into the Design & Construction Process


For more information about the broadcast, please call (678) 539-1206, visitwww.ashrae.org/iaqbroadcastor e-mailashrae-satellitebroadcast@ashrae.org. Online registration for satellite site coordinators and Webcast viewers will begin March 2, and viewer registration will begin March 16. There is no fee for registration.

Consortium to Advise DOE on High-Performance Green Building Issues

ATLANTA –The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, along with nine other leading organizations, is forming a consortium in response to the U.S. Department of Energy request for consortia to advise the department on high-performance building issues. The High-Performance Commercial Green Building Partnership (HPCGBP) brings together leading organizations from all aspects of the building community to provide guidance and technical leadership on key sustainability issues to the Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Program.

“This partnership will ensure that the voices of the building industry are being heard,” says Bill Harrison, ASHRAE president. “At a time when reducing energy consumption in buildings is paramount, the consortium gives leaders in the built environment and in those industries affecting construction a clear path to offer advice to the DOE on our goals, concerns and new technologies.”

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers initiated formation of the Partnership and will serve as the Partnership’s Secretariat. Other members of the HPCGBP’s steering committee currently includes the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), American Institute of Architects (AIA), Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), International Code Council (ICC), Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The partnership intends to be recognized as a “Partnership Consortium” by the Department of Energy as requested in response to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 Section 421. Section 421 is part of the formation of the Net-Zero Commercial Building Initiative which is intended to develop a research, development, and deployment strategy toward achieving net zero energy commercial buildings.

Partnership participants reflect all disciplines necessary to design and build high-performance commercial buildings, including:
  • Architects and engineers
  • The development, construction, financial, and real estate industries
  • Building owners and operators
  • Academic and research organizations
  • Building code agencies and organizations
  • Independent high-performance green building associations or councils
  • Experts in indoor air quality and environmental factors
  • Experts in intelligent buildings and integrated building information systems
  • Utility energy efficiency programs
  • Manufacturers and providers of equipment
  • Public transportation industry experts
  • Nongovernmental energy efficiency organizations


For more information, please visitwww.hpcgbp.orgor contact Doug Read in ASHRAE’s Washington Office atdread@ashrae.orgor 202-833-1830.