Lessons learned by the General Services Administration (GSA) in improving HVAC systems in federal buildings will be shared in a seminar at theASHRAE2004 Winter Meeting technical program. The meeting will be held January 24-28, in Anaheim, CA.

Technical, Energy and Government Activities Committee (TEGA) Update: HVAC Excellence in Federal Buildings will take place from 8 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Monday, January 26. It is sponsored by TEGA.

"Attendees can take the lessons learned by the GSA in the areas of energy usage, operations and maintenance and thermal comfort and apply these to their projects," chair Tom Werkema, ATOFINA Chemicals Inc., Philadelphia, said. "While the GSA, which manages some 300 million square feet, works on a much larger scale than most engineers, the need to provide energy efficient buildings with good IAQ remains the same."

Paul Chistolini, deputy commissioner of the Public Buildings Service, GSA, Washington, will serve as keynote speaker. He will discuss the recently published report, Improving GSA Building Performance and Customer Satisfaction Through an Integrated Approach, which focuses on the GSA's efforts to improve building performance and customer service through enhanced design and integration of building systems.

GSA's HVAC Excellence Initiative program began in 1998, evolving after the agency saw increases in energy use and operations and maintenance costs accompanied by customer dissatisfaction surveys in the area of thermal comfort.