Chapter Meetings

April Meeting - 4/19/23

Overview of Ground Source Heating and Cooling: Spokane Edition

Synopsis

Keylin from Hayley Aldrich will be presenting on the geologic conditions that created a favorable environment for open-loop ground source heating and cooling systems and the evolution of a ground source heating and cooling project in the Spokane Valley.

Our topic will discuss:

  1. What is ground source heating and cooling?
  2. How does it Work?
  3. Where in Spokane is this technology possible?
  4. HVAC integration and cost comparison of current systems.

March Meeting - 3/15/23

ASHRAE Benefits: a student perspective & An update on CO2 and the new low GWP refrigerants

Location: Pavillion conference room in the Wells Fargo Building located at 601 W 1st Ave, Spokane, WA 99201.

Part 1 (10-15 minutes)

ASHRAE students are going to provide a brief recap and benefits of joining and attending ASHRAE meetings from a student perspective.

Part 2 (35-45 minutes)

Presentation to the chapter on updates to CO2 and the new low GWP refrigerants as the industry phases down HCFC’s and HFC’s. Our topic will discuss:
  1. Brief history of refrigerants the past 50 years
  2. Current status of HCFC’s and HFC’s.
  3. Update on Modern Refrigerants, including CO2 operating principles, HC (HydroCarbons) and HFO’s.
  4. Ashrae safety standards and guidelines for environmentally friendly Refrigerants.

February Meeting - 2/15/23

2021 WSEC Changes

Cliff Notes Version

Location: Pavillion conference room in the Wells Fargo Building located at 601 W 1st Ave, Spokane, WA 99201.

Presenters:

  • Jon Grove – ATS Inland NW
  • Jake Scott – Trane Technologies
  • Blake Bonham – Dorse & Co
  • Nick Beeler – ACI Mech Sales
  • David Reames – FSi Engineer

Synopsis: This chapter meeting centers on a presentation that will summarize selected major changes found in the 2021 Washington State Energy Code (WSEC) that will affect our members. Thanks to our own Brandon Crane, he has highlighted six changes that are worth airtime and discussion. To aide in presenting these WSEC changes we have enlisted the help of our chapter members, which include: Jon Grove (ATS), Jake Scott (Trane), Blake Bonham (Dorse), Nick Beeler (ACI), and David Reames (FSi). Each presenter will cover one of these six changes with a high-level summary and will try to
include some visual representation of the change and relate it to a real-life scenario.

This presentation is to address the basics questions for each highlighted WSEC change:

  • What is the change?
  • What does this change affect?
  • How does this affect my designs?
  • What do I need to do differently now?

January Meeting - 1/18/23

Driving Hospitals Towards Net Zero

Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Increasing Climate Research

Location: Pavillion conference room in the Wells Fargo Building located at 601 W 1st Ave, Spokane, WA 99201.

Note: This will be a virtual meetings as well, please email technologies@ie-ashrae.com if you must attend remotely. Do not rsvp on our website as we use that to count for our meals. Also, you will need assistance from security to get access to the basement, they are prepped and ready to give access!

Presenter: David N. Schurk DES, CEM, LEED-AP, CDSM, CEWP, SFP, CIAQM.

Speaker Bio: David Schurk DES, CEM, LEED-AP, CDSM, CWEP, SFP, CIAQM, ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer, Committee Chairperson ASHE Sustainability and Decarbonization Leadership Task Force, and Member ASHE Rapid Response Task Force is Director-Healthcare and Applied Engineering Markets for GPS Air in Charlotte, NC. He has over 40-years of experience in the design and analysis of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems for a variety of market sectors, with a special focus on healthcare and aerospace environmental control and air quality.

Abstract: Healthcare facilities in the United States account for 4.8% of the total area of all commercial buildings yet are responsible for 10.3% of their total energy consumption. If the healthcare sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gasses on the planet. As well, the number of healthcare facilities has increased by 22% since 2003, leading to a 21% rise in energy consumption which has placed a sustainability target on the back of every hospital in the country.

The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) defines decarbonization as the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) (CO2) emissions resulting from human activity, with the eventual goal of eliminating them. In practice, getting to zero net emissions requires shifting from fossil fuels to alternative low-carbon energy sources. The scale of the current climate crisis means that full decarbonization of the economy rather than partial reduction of emissions is now the goal. Instead of just using fossil fuels more efficiently, this requires ceasing using them at all. This in turn requires moving to zero-carbon energy vectors, notably via electrification of end-uses.