Engineered Systems is dedicated to highlighting the outstanding achievements of the women in engineering through its 20 to Watch: Women in HVAC contest.

In my youth, the year 2020 was a comical setting utilized only in science fiction movies. Today, it’s six months from a reality.

Ten years ago, the name Alexa was a mere spec on the baby-naming landscape. Today, more than one-third of Americans are uttering the name (or the names of its voice-controlled cousins) every day to control the technology within their living spaces. 

According to data from Burning Glass Technologies, more than 13 STEM jobs were posted online for each one unemployed STEM worker in 2016.

Constructing a building takes an army. Designers, engineers, general contractors, flooring installers, HVAC contractors, plumbers, roofers, mappers, and surveyors are just a few of the blue-collar experts necessary to optimize a commercial building.  

Over the next 40 years, an estimated 2 trillion square feet of new and rebuilt building space will be constructed worldwide.

Over the next 40 years, an estimated 2 trillion square feet of new and rebuilt building space will be constructed worldwide.

While the advent of membrane-based rooftop air conditioners, VRF, energy storage, and a number of other technologies appear to be testing the limits of energy efficiency, the International Energy Agency (IEA) believes the industry is miles from touching its proverbial glass ceiling.

Few indoor environments must be as meticulously managed as medical facilities.

What would happen if your engineering team stepped into another firm’s facilities with the goal of identifying energy inefficiencies?