The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers(ASHRAE) has revised its standard for rating liquid coolers, has released a newly published standard to test smoke management fans, and is readying for review a proposed standard that would test the compatibility of systems and equipment with BACnet™.

ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 24-2000, Methods of Testing for Rating Liquid Coolers, supports ARI Standard 480, which establishes requirements for testing, minimum data requirements for publishing ratings, marketing, and nameplate data and conformance conditions, according to Shane Moeykens, chair of the committee that developed Standard 24.

“ASHRAE Standard 24 addresses how the actual testing, down to determine performance ratings, shall be performed,” Moeyekns said.

The standard is intended to be used by companies that produce evaporator heat exchangers and market them as standalone components. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 149-2000, Laboratory Methods of Testing Fans Used to Exhaust Smoke in Smoke Management Systems, applies to fans that are to be permanently installed in smoke management systems to exhaust smoke, including fan components and accessories when supplied, mounted, or intended to be mounted to the fan.

“The standard will allow the industry to specify fans designed for smoke management service, tested under temperature and operation conditions that fans likely will experience in service,” William Webb, committee chair said.

Proposed ASHRAE Standard 135.1P, “Method of Testing Conformance to BACnet,” defines the steps to test whether a product or application conforms to the BACnet standard and correctly provides the features claimed by the supplier. To achieve this, the proposed standard contains test for each BACnet message type, function, and networking technology, said Steven Bushby, chair of the BACnet committee.

“It is expected that 135.1P, once finalized, will form the basis for BACnet testing, certification, and product listing programs,” said Bushby. “The fist such program in North America is currently under development by the BACnet Manufacturers Association whose member firms have formed the BACnet Testing Laboratory to actually refine and carry out the tests,” he added.

Bushby said he expects to receive the results of those test during the public review period as well as those from a parallel, but coordinated, program under development by the BACnet Interest Group – Europe. The draft will be available for comment this summer.