ASHRAE Journal - April 2013 - 4

1791 Tullie Circle NE
Atlanta, GA 30329-2305
Phone: 404-636-8400
Fax: 404-321-5478 | www.ashrae.org

Publisher W. Stephen Comstock
EDITORIAL

Editor
Fred Turner
fturner@ashrae.org
Managing Editor
Sarah Foster
sfoster@ashrae.org
Associate Editor
Rebecca Matyasovski
rmatyasovski@ashrae.org
Associate Editor
Christopher Weems
cweems@ashrae.org
Associate Editor
Jeri Eader
jeader@ashrae.org
Editorial Assistant
Tani Palefski
tpalefski@ashrae.org

PUBLISHING SERVICES

Publishing Services Manager
David Soltis
Production
Jayne Jackson
Tracy Becker

ADVERTISING

Associate Publisher,
ASHRAE Media Advertising
Greg Martin
gmartin@ashrae.org
Advertising Production Coordinator
Vanessa Johnson
vjohnson@ashrae.org

CIRCULATION

Circulation Specialist
David Soltis
dsoltis@ashrae.org

ASHRAE OFFICERS
President
Thomas E. Watson, P
.E.

President-Elect
William P Bahnfleth, Ph.D., P
.
.E.
Treasurer
Thomas H. Phoenix, P
.E.
Vice Presidents
Constantinos A. Balaras, Ph.D., P
.E.
Daniel C. Pettway
Timothy G. Wentz, P
.E.
Thomas E. Werkema
Secretary & Executive Vice President
Jeff H. Littleton

POLICY GROUP

2012 – 13 Chair
Publications Committee
Francis A. Mills

COMMENTARY
Still Important
A New York Times* report on the 1895 annual meeting of the American Society
of Heating and Ventilating Engineers (ASHVE) provides a glimpse of
what was important to early members of one of ASHRAE’s principal
predecessors.
“You may hold that in the majority of cases the occupant of a tenement
does not desire any ventilation, but this doesn’t affect the merits of the
case,” said ASHVE President E.P. Bates in his opening address.
“We should take the matter in hand and bring out a system which will Fred Turner
be for the good of the masses. Every family has the right to have an abundance of good
fresh air, even if they are not aware of their rights….”
FAST FORWARD 118 years. What was important then might be more important
now. More and more research seems to connect ventilation and cognitive development.
The U.S. Green Building Council, for example, called for a new “State of Our Schools”
report on the impact of deferred maintenance. The last report in 1995 indicated that
15,000 schools were circulating air that was unfit to breathe.
The USGBC quotes National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel in
calling for Congress to commission the report.
“Our job—as educators, as parents and as elected officials—is to remove barriers
so that all students can succeed,” he said. “This means investing in the right priorities.
Children need and deserve safe and healthy environments so they can learn. It’s not
more complicated than that.”
THIS EDITION is filled with examples of balancing good ventilation and energy.
These include a case study on the Biodome at the Montreal Space for Life. The biodome
houses five ecosystems.
The Journal also regularly publishes the IAQ Applications column. The column in this
edition covers ASHRAE’s new position document on unvented combustion.
OVERALL, I’m sure Bates would be proud of what ASHRAE is achieving in the
area of indoor air quality. A quote from Bates illustrates its importance to early ASHVE
members.
“Ventilation comes next to godliness and must necessarily precede the manifestation
of the latter, so I hold that in the next decade one of the great human benefactors will
be the body of men who make it possible for their fellow men to be more cleanly in
their surroundings.”
While Bates and his ASHVE colleagues were on target with ventilation, the N.Y. Times
article shows Bates and his colleagues were not right about everything.
“There was a short discussion as to what would be the future of electric heating,” the
article says. “Mr. (L.H.) Hart said from inquiries he had made he was sure the expense
of electric heating would always prevent it from becoming a formidable competitor to
the other system.”
* The article from the N.Y. Times was sent to us by Dave Grumman, P.E., Fellow/Life Member ASHRAE. It was sent to
him by his niece, an art conservationist who was working with the New York Tenement Museum. She said it was found by
an engineer working in the museum. Thank you, Dave.

Washington Office
washdc@ashrae.org
ASHRAE Journal reviews current HVAC&R technology of broad interest through publication
of applications-oriented articles. Content ranges from back-to-basics features to reviews of
emerging technologies.

ASHRAE Journal - April 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - April 2013