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/ b r i e f s / p e o p l e industry /hvac Former ASHRAE President Awarded Institute of Refrigeration's J&E; Hall Gold Medal Thomas Watson , a former ASHRAE president and retired chief engineer at Daikin Applied, recently received the Institute of Refrigeration's J&E; Hall Gold Medal Award for his groundbreaking work to improve the efficiency of chillers and industrial heat pumps. Watson's work included the introduction of large capacity oil-free magnetic bearing compressors and the first centrifugal chiller with zero-ozone depleting potential. He is working on the safe application of low-GWP flammable refrigerants. His career spans nearly 45 years, and he has been involved with ASHRAE since 1972 serving in various capacities. Ruskin Executives Elected to AMCA Leadership Positions The Air Movement and Control Association has elected Ruskin President Keith Glasch to the group's board of directors, and Ruskin Director of Architectural Solutions Jim Smardo as chair of the AMCA Louver Marketing Task Force. Glasch will serve a three-year term. As a board member, he will help guide AMCA in all matters pertaining to growth of the organization and air movement and control technology, especially fans, dampers and louvers. Smardo will serve approximately two years as chair of AMCA's Louver Marketing Task Force, which includes representatives from five louver manufacturers. The Task Force champions louver certification, advocating to the industry the value of AMCA-certified products in accordance with AMCA codes, such as AMCA 550 (test method for high-velocity, wind-driven rain-resistant louvers). To learn more about AMCA, visit amca.org. For more information about Ruskin, visit ruskin.com. Thomas Watson Keith Glasch Jim Smardo First Daikin VRV Unit Assembled at Daikin Texas Technology Park Daikin Texas Technology Park, Daikin North America LLC's new $417-million, 4-million-square- foot campus located outside Northwest Houston, Texas, welcomed the first VRV unit off the production line during a celebration led by CEO Takeshi Ebisu. The event was attended by employees from multiple depart- ments, as well as senior leaders of the company. Daikin VRV technology is not entirely new to North America. VRV units were introduced in 2005 with products imported from Japan and Europe. In Febru- ary 2014, Daikin was the first HVAC manufacturer to operate assembly lines for VRV outdoor units in North America with lim- ited production in Houston. With the opening of the com- pany's campus in Waller, Texas, the production of VRV units, as well as the development of new product designs, is expected to increase productivity by 22 percent, decreasing lead time and responding to customer demand. DUCT SIZING CALCULATOR AVAILABLE A new duct sizing calculator from ASHRAE and the Air Distribution Institute allows HVAC air distribution sys- tem designers to more accurately size ducts, especially flex ducts under varying amounts of compression, based on research results. The Duct Size Calculator is a quick reference tool for approximating duct sizes and equivalent sizes of sheet metal duct vs. flexible duct. The calculator includes fields for 4, 15 and 30 percent compression in flex- ible ducts. The calculations used to create these size references are based on straight line compression as performed in the laboratory on a flat surface. Field- installed flexible ducts with bends, kinks and excessive lengths will have additional resistance, which will result in diminished airflow. For details, visit ashrae.org. RPA COMMERCIAL COMMITTEE INTRODUCES BUILDING EFFICIENCY RATING SOFTWARE Radiant Professionals Alliance's Hydronic Industry Alliance-Commercial Committee recently introduced the Building Energy Efficiency Rating software. This product enables comparison of multiple types of space conditioning systems for a given building, showing estimated comparisons of installed cost, operating and maintenance costs and lifecycle costs for each system type, all displayed graphically. The information can then be shared with building owners and developers, as well as the design commu- nity, as they make decisions about which type of system to install in their buildings. For more information, visit radiantprofessionalsalliance.org. NEW RESIDENTIAL HVAC STANDARD FEATURES LATEST CONSTRUCTION CODE REQUIREMENTS Hydronic heating systems, multi-story HVAC systems and residential commissioning are three new areas addressed by the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association's revised Residential Comfort Systems Installation Standards manual (8th edition) (ANSI/SMACNA 007-2016). This book's appendix provides methods for includ- ing crawlspaces in the conditioning space and HVAC accessories such as UV lights, zoning and advanced air-filtering methods to enhance indoor environmental quality for occupants. More detailed information and new concepts are featured in the 278-page publication for earth energy heat exchanger methods and ground source heat pumps. Updated construction code require- ments are reflected throughout the range of HVAC system types along with energy efficiency and sustain- able practices. For details, visit smacna.org. USER'S MANUAL FOR 2016 IAQ STANDARD PUBLISHED A manual to help users navigate the changes in ASHRAE's 2016 ventilation standard is available. The User's Manual for ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2016, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality, provides information on the requirements of the standard and in- cludes tables, illustrations and examples to aid users in designing, installing and operating systems. Also includ- ed is a link to newly revised web-based spreadsheets that aid in ventilation rate procedure calculations. More information can be found at ashrae.org/news. /briefs /people HVACPproducts.com HVAC & Plumbing Product News \ Spring 2017 8