ASHRAE Journal - February 2015 - 4

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

Firming Up the Foundations

EDITORIAL
Managing Editor
Sarah Foster
sfoster@ashrae.org

This issue of ASHRAE Journal is
being assembled as the AHR Expo and
ASHRAE Winter Conference are taking place in Chicago. As show visitors
walk the aisles and conference attendees shift from one session to another,
the thing most striking will be not one
breakthrough advance, but the number
of solutions to control the indoor environment that are now available. With
the advent of Big Data and the ability to
capture, analyze, store and act on thousands upon thousands, if not millions,
of data points, the pace of change will
only accelerate.
It is time to go back to the basics, to
make sure the right foundation is in
place so that new products and systems
can be used to their full potential.
This issue of ASHRAE Journal begins a
new series of articles that we are calling
"Fundamentals at Work." The objective is
not a primer of what was learned years
ago. The intent is to take the fundamentals and explain how they are the basis of
the new technologies being used today, a
connecting of the dots from what worked
before to what works now.
This issue covers radiant heating and
cooling. Use of radiant heating systems can be traced back for thousands
of years, but that does not mean the
technology is not evolving and offering
a new range of solutions. Kwang Woo
Kim, Arch.D., and Bjarne W. Olesen,
Ph.D., describe how the advantages of
radiant systems for residential buildings, like its comfort and free use of floor
space, are now being applied in commercial settings for heating and cooling
to take advantage of possible peak load

Associate Editor
Rebecca Matyasovski
rmatyasovski@ashrae.org
Associate Editor
Christopher Weems
cweems@ashrae.org
Associate Editor
Jeri Alger
jalger@ashrae.org
Assistant Editor
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 H. Phoenix, P.E.
President-Elect
T. David Underwood, P.Eng.
Treasurer
Timothy G. Wentz, P.E.
Vice Presidents
Darryl K. Boyce, P.Eng.
Charles E. Gulledge III
Bjarne W. Olesen, Ph.D.
James K. Vallort
Secretary & Executive Vice President
Jeff H. Littleton
POLICY GROUP
2014 - 15 Chair
Publications Committee
Michael R. Brambley, Ph.D.
Washington Office
washdc@ashrae.org

reduction and energy savings. This is
Part 1 of a two part series.
In coming months, the Journal will
review Hydronics 101. It will be an
introductory article for those new to the
design industry, helping them along the
road of current practice. Instead of trying to cover all aspects of this important
HVAC topic, it will focus solely on the
basics related to configuration, layout,
and major system components.
Also in the lineup is an article on the
basics of air distribution. It will cover
the basic principles of air delivery into
spaces including the three main methods: well-mixed overhead, displacement and underfloor (stratified) and
laminar (including operating room,
clean room and laboratory strategies).
Down the road the Journal will
address variable air volume air delivery
systems. This includes a brief review
of the air handler, more on single and
double duct, as well as fan-powered
induction boxes. It will tie into the wellmixed overhead method previously
discussed, as far as selection for VAV
operation goes.
Acoustics will be next. This subject
is often black magic to many young
(and old) engineers, but in reality it's
not that complex as long as one understands the real desired end result and
uses the available tools. It will reference
both of the previous topics.
We hope you find this issue of
ASHRAE Journal timely and instructive reading. And be on the lookout for
Fundamentals at Work articles in the
upcoming issues.
W. Stephen Comstock, Publisher

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.
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ASHRAE Journal - February 2015

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