American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers

by Jerry Labenz

It's 98 degrees outdoors and you are sitting in your office with the sun beating through the window which does not open and the temperature inside your office is more than 110 degrees. What do you do?

If this scenario would play out at your office, you probably would do a number of things all of which would include leaving the office. But, chances are you won't find yourself in this situation nor would you think to thank the international organization called ASHRAE for that fact.

What is ASHRAE? And why should anyone thank them for keeping his office comfortable? Well ASHRAE, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, is an international organization of 50,000 persons with chapters throughout the world.

The society is organized for the sole purpose of advancing the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration for the public's benefit through research, standards-writing, continuing education and publications.

Through its membership, ASHRAE writes standards that set uniform methods of testing and rating equipment, and establish accepted practices for the HVAC&R industry worldwide, such as the design of energy-efficient buildings.

The society's research program currently more than 100 research projects worth nearly $8 million investigates numerous issues, such as identifying new refrigerants that are environmentally safe.

ASHRAE organizes broad-based technical programs for presentation at its semiannual meetings and co-sponsors the International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition, the largest HVAC&R trade show in North America.

Through research and development, the society has assisted the design engineering community with methods and standards of keeping all areas of a building heated and cooled; whether a 5,000-square-foot, single-story building, or a 1 million-square-foot, 100-story office building.

The local chapter, ASHRAE-Ozarks, has a membership of 69 professionals. The chapter meets on the third Tuesday of each month. The meetings last 2 1/2 hours and include dinner and an informative program to benefit the continued development of the membership.

Locally, the chapter also provides scholarships for area students enrolled in programs related to the HVAC industry. ASHRAE Ozarks also promotes raising funds for research and development sponsored through the International ASHRAE organization.

Officers of the local chapter are: Jerry Labenz, president; Tom Wilkinson, president-elect; Mark Wentzel, vice president; Charles Tharp, secretary; and Jerry Robison, treasurer.

So, when you find yourself in a building with inoperable windows on a hot day and you are comfortable, know that the past and present members of ASHRAE can take a lot of credit for your situation.

(Jerry Labenz, of The Trane Company, is president of ASHRAE-Ozarks.)

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