Empower wins two golds at IDEA 2022

DUBAI, UAE, 15 June 2022: Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower) won two gold awards at the International District Energy Association (IDEA) Annual Conference 2022, which took place from June 6 to 9 in Toronto, Canada, the District Cooling company said.

Making the announcement today, Empower said its winning the two gold awards – for the categories, ‘Number of Buildings Committed’ and ‘Total Building Area Committed’ in IDEA 2022 – is the eighth of its kind, as the company has won the same awards in the years 2005, 2007, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. In addition, it has received various other awards from IDEA – numbering 17 – in other categories, Empower said. Moreover, the company said, it has been honoured with many other awards and titles from various conferences and exhibitions around the world, in recognition of its distinguished achievements in developing the District Cooling industry, worldwide, as the world’s largest District Cooling services provider.

Empower said its winning represents a renewed international recognition of the company’s efforts to promote the District Cooling concept worldwide, and to encourage decision-makers to adopt this environmentally friendly cooling solution and apply the best integrated green practices.

Speaking on the occasion of winning the awards, Ahmad Bin Shafar, CEO, Empower, said: “The winning of these two global awards reinforces the company’s international recognitions by the global industry leaders for the pioneering and pivotal role that Empower plays in innovating the highest practices in this vital industry, both in terms of optimising energy consumption and cost or in protecting resources and the environment. It also honors our continuous efforts in spreading the culture of District Cooling systems, and appreciates our unremitting endeavors and constant quest to employ the techniques of the 4^th revolution in production, control, distribution and customer service operations, in a way that enhances the District Cooling sector worldwide.”

Bin Shafar explained that the awards are the fruits of government policies that support the expansion of the District Cooling sector to put Dubai on the map of global cities in District Cooling. “Empower,” he said, “is proceeding towards achieving many advancements in District Cooling systems in pursuit of its mission to bring an added value at national and global levels.”

Bin Shafar CEO indicated that the company would keep developing its District Cooling systems to a level that surpasses international standards, in order to provide high-quality services in response to the large and increasing demand for District Cooling for a variety of projects in different fields, in line with the strategic direction of the Emirate of Dubai. “The IDEA 2022 and the agenda it tackled, including the trends of the reality and future of the energy industry and its technologies, contribute to strengthening international efforts to shape a more flexible and effective humane future that is also less exposed to carbon emissions,” he said.

Empower said that last week, Bin Shafar was appointed as a member to the Board of Directors of IDEA for the fourth time in a row, making him the first Emirati Arab to hold such a prestigious position in US-based IDEA, which is an international non-profit organization, for over a decade.

ASHRAE recognizes outstanding achievements of members

ATLANTA, Georgia, 30 January 2022: ASHRAE recognized the outstanding achievements and contributions of members to the Society and the built-environment industry during its 2022 Winter Conference in Las Vegas. It made the announcement through a Press release.

“Congratulations to all of ASHRAE’s Honors and Awards recipients,” said 2021-22 ASHRAE President Mick Schwedler. “Your service to the global built-environment and our Society is appreciated.”

Fellow ASHRAE

According to ASHRAE, the Fellow ASHRAE category is a membership grade that recognizes members who have attained distinction and made substantial contributions in HVACR and the built-environment, such as education, research, engineering design and consultation, publications, presentations and mentoring. The Society elevated 25 members to the grade of Fellow:

• Edward A. Arens, Ph.D., Life Member ASHRAE, director, Center for the Built Environment, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California
• Robert Bean, President, Indoor Climate Consultants Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Don Brandt, Life Member ASHRAE, Retired from Trane Co., in Phoenix, Arizona
• James F. Butler, CTO, Cimetrics Inc., Boston, Massachusetts
• Pieter De Wilde, Professor, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom
• Titu R. Doctor, Life Member ASHRAE, Retired, Marietta, Georgia
• W. Stuart Dols, Mechanical Engineer, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, Maryland
• Brian A. Fricke, Ph.D., Group Leader, Building Equipment Research, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
• Shih-Cheng Hu, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Department of Energy, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning, and Director, Center for Clean Technology Research, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
• Joe Huang, BEMP, Owner, White Box Technologies, Inc., Moraga, California
• Luke C. H. Leung, P.E., P.Eng., BEMP, Director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Chicago, Illinois
• Igor Y. Maevski, Ph.D., P.E., Manager of Engineering, Global Tunnel Fire & Life Safety Lead, Jacobs Engineering, New York, New York
• Hugh Magande, Technical Principal, Research, Southface Institute, Atlanta, Georgia
• Tim McGinn, P.Eng., HBDP, Principal, McGinn Technical Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Janice K. Means, P.E., Life Member ASHRAE, Professor Emerita, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan
• Amy V. Musser, Ph.D., P.E., BEMP, Partner, Vandemusser Design, Asheville, North Carolina
• Zheng O’Neill, Ph.D., P.E., Associate Professor, J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
• Ryozo Ooka, Professor, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
• Chun-cheng Piao, Ph.D., President, Daikin Open Innovation Lab Silicon Valley, Santa Clara, California
• Lee Riback, Life Member ASHRAE, Project Director – Commissioning, McKinstry Co – South Region, Dallas, Texas
• Charles Roos, CPEng, Senior Technical Director, Beca Ltd., Auckland, New Zealand.
• William A. Ryan, Ph.D., P.E., Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Master of Energy Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
• Roger R. Schmidt, Ph.D., Traugott Distinguished Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
• Celso Cardoso Simões Alexandre, P.Eng., Life Member ASHRAE, President, TROX Americas Extended Board, and Member, TROX GROUP Extended Board, TROX GmbH, São Paulo, Brazil
• Filza H. Walters, Professor of the Practice in Architectural Engineering, Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.

Presidential Certificate of Honor 

According to ASHRAE, the Presidential Certificate of Honor is presented as a special honor by the ASHRAE President to recognize a member who has made a unique contribution to the growth and well-being of the Society. ASHRAE recognized the ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force in the category. The members of the Task Force are:

• Bill Bahnfleth, Ph.D., P.E., Presidential Fellow Member ASHRAE, Professor of Architectural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
• Dennis Knight, P.E., BEMP, Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, Principal, Whole Building Systems, LLC, Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina
• Walid Chakroun, Ph.D., P.E., Fellow Member ASHRAE, Professor, Kuwait University, Kuwait
• Brad C. Cochran, P.E., Senior Principal, CPP Wind Engineering, Windsor, Colorado
• Wade H. Conlan, P.E., BCxP, Commissioning and Energy Discipline Manager, Hanson Professional Services, Inc., Maitland, Florida
• Jason DeGraw, Ph.D., R&D Staff Member, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Knoxville, Tennessee
• Traci Hanegan, P.E., HFDP, Fellow Member ASHRAE, Principal Mechanical Engineer, Coffman Engineers, Inc., Spokane, Washington.
• Richard D. Hermans, P.E., HFDP, Life Member ASHRAE, Retired Mechanical Department Manager, AECOM, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Luke Leung, P.E., P.Eng, BEMP, Director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP, Chicago, Illinois
• Stephen B. Martin, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., Senior Research Engineer, Respiratory Health Division, Field Studies Branch, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Morgantown, West Virginia
• John L. McKernan, Sc.D., Chief, Emerging Contaminants and Technologies Branch, US EPA, Cincinnati, Ohio
• Corey B. Metzger, P.E., Principal, Resource Consulting Engineers, LLC, Ames, Iowa
• Jim Ridenhour, Life Member ASHRAE, Retired, Greer, South Carolina
• Max H. Sherman, Ph.D., Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, Retired Senior Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
• Stephanie Taylor, M.D., President and Founder, Building 4 Health, Inc., Keswick, Virginia
• Pawel Wargocki, Ph.D., Associate Professor, International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

ASHRAE Technology Awards

According to ASHRAE, the ASHRAE Technology Awards recognize outstanding achievements by ASHRAE members who have successfully applied innovative building designs. Their designs incorporate ASHRAE standards for effective energy management and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and serve to communicate innovative systems design. Winning projects are selected from entries earning regional awards. According to ASHRAE, first-place recipients for the ASHRAE Technology Award are:

• Hermes Silva Flores, existing commercial buildings category, Hotel Mandarin Oriental, Santiago, Chile. The building is owned by Hotel Mandarin Oriental Santiago.
• Donald R. Hartdegen, Jr., P.E., Asfandyar Khan, P.E., HBDP and Sudesh Saraf, P.E., new educational facilities category, Adlai E. Stevenson High School East Building, Lincolnshire, Illinois. The building is owned by Adlai Stevenson High School District 125.
• Jason Volz, P.E., Matt Branham, P.E., Brian Duvall, P.E. and Braydi McPherson-Hathaway, EBCx educational facilities category, Kentucky Community and Technical College System, Louisville, Kentucky. The building is owned by Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
• Lincoln Pearce, P.E., BEAP, existing educational facilities category, Marston Hall Renovation, Ames, Iowa.
• Nicholas Rogers, P.E., Tracy Steward and David Mayer, new heath care facilities category, Norton Novak Center for Children’s Health, Louisville, Kentucky. The building is owned by Norton Healthcare.
• Shana Scheiber, P.E. and Rick Flock, P.E., new industrial facilities or processes category, Exact Sciences Lab, Madison, Wisconsin. The building is owned by Exact Sciences.
• Leighton W. Deer, P.E., HBDP and Brad Grubb, P.E., new public assembly category, Westwood Hills Nature Center, St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The building is owned by the City of St. Louis Park.
• Dennis C. McKale, P.E., Bradley Herbeck and Ryan Cowan, existing industrial facilities or processes category, Stellantis – Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, Sterling Heights, Michigan. The building is owned by Stellantis.
• Dustin Langille, BEMP, HBDP and Donald McLauchlan, residential facilities category, 3833 North Broadway, Chicago, Illinois. The building is owned by 3817-45 N. Broadway Inc.

First Place and Award of Engineering Excellence

According to ASHRAE, the Award of Engineering Excellence was created in 1989 to recognize a first-place winner of the Society-level Technology Award competition for an outstanding application of innovative design and effective energy utilization. The recipient of the Award of Engineering Excellence will have demonstrated the best overall compliance with the judging criteria.

According to ASHRAE, first-place and recipients of the Award of Engineering Excellence are:

• Shiro Tsukami, P.E., Kitaro Mizuide, Ph.D., P.E. and Hirotaka Kubo, P.E., new commercial buildings category, DaiyaGate Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. The building is owned by Seibu Properties Inc.

Student Design Competition

According to ASHRAE, the 2021 Student Design Competition focused on a new 50,000-square-foot building on a higher education campus in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. The building included a two-story cafeteria, associated office, and commercial kitchen and storage space. The teams were tasked with providing safe and healthy storage of food materials on the lower level in a manner that prevents spoiling and the growth of bacteria, while providing enough kitchen/serving space and permanent seating to serve a peak occupancy of 720 students and a total of 3,000 students per day.

First place in the HVAC System Selection category was awarded to Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan. Team members are Evan Eldred, Brian Van Schepen, Nick Schramski, Cole Quinlan, Cole Weber and Jordanny T. Williams.

According to ASHRAE, first place in the HVAC Design Calculations category was awarded to the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Team members are Brandon Jung, Arin Lee, Lukengo Miguel, Kyle Vanderhorst and Taewoong (Jeff) Yoon.

According to ASHRAE, first place in the Integrated Sustainable Building Design category was awarded to Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pa. Team members are Andre Cosini, Xinyan Liu, Christopher Maitski, Andrew McGrail, Roumany C. Phan and Christopher Unis.

The Setty Family Foundation Applied Engineering Challenge requires students to plan, develop and enact solutions to sustainability issues in their local or regional areas. In the 2021 Setty Family Foundation Applied Engineering Challenge, students were challenged to design an indoor farming system to meet the needs of a local community with regard to single or multi-family residential construction.

According to ASHRAE, the California Polytechnic State University, in San Luis Obispo, California, placed first. Team members are Adam Bessey, Matthew Malonzo and Ryan Salazar.

E.K. Campbell Award of Merit

According to ASHRAE, Thomas M. Lawrence, Ph.D., P.E., Fellow Member ASHRAE, received the E.K. Campbell Award of Merit. The award honors an individual for outstanding service and achievement in teaching and is presented by the Life Members Club. Lawrence is professor of practice, mechanical engineering program lead, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.

John F. James International Award

According to ASHRAE, Karine Leblanc, received the John F. James International Award. The award recognizes a member who has done the most to enhance the Society’s international presence. Lelanc is sales engineer, US Air Conditioning Distributors, City of Industry, California.

YEA Inspirational Leader Award

According to ASHRAE, Badri Patel, BEAP, received the YEA Inspirational Leader Award. The award recognizes a Young Engineer in ASHRAE (YEA) member who has gone above and beyond to make considerable contributions to the industry and community. Patel is commercial market account executive, Johnson Controls Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

ASHRAE Award for Distinguished Public Service

According to ASHRAE, Steven J. Williams received the ASHRAE Award for Distinguished Public Service. The award recognizes members who have performed outstanding public service in their community and, in doing so, have helped to improve the public image of the engineer. Williams is mechanical project manager, James Posey Associates, Owings Mills, Maryland.

Honorary Member

According to ASHRAE, William “Bill” Nye, known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, was elected as an Honorary Member of ASHRAE. Honorary Members, elected by the Board of Directors, are defined as notable persons of preeminent professional distinction. Nye is CEO, The Planetary Society, Pasadena, California.

ASHRAE Hall of Fame

According to ASHRAE, Raymond G. Alvine, P.E., Fellow Life Member ASHRAE (1926-2005) and Alwin B. Newton, Fellow Life Member ASHRAE (1907-1985), were inducted into the ASHRAE Hall of Fame. The ASHRAE Hall of Fame honors deceased members of the Society who have made milestone contributions to the growth of ASHRAE-related technology or the development of ASHRAE as a society.

Paul Anderson Award

According to ASHRAE, James E. Braun, Ph.D., Fellow Life Member ASHRAE, received the F. Paul Anderson Award. The award, ASHRAE’s highest honor, for technical achievement, is named in memory of Presidential Member F. Paul Anderson, who was a pioneer in the study of environmental conditions for comfort.

APUEA to host District Energy awards

BANGKOK, Thailand, 19 May 2021: The organisers of the 7^th Global District Energy Climate Awards have invited submission of entries. Making the announcement through a Press release, they added that the deadline for receiving entries is June 30.

The Awards ceremony, to be hosted by the Asia Pacific Urban Energy Association, will take place on November 11  and 12 in Bangkok. The Awards has six categories to choose from, including New Scheme, Modernisation, Expansion, Emerging Market, District Energy in Developing Countries and Out-of-the-Box. According to the organisers, the entries will be judged by a panel of highly respected professionals.

Dr Robin Wiltshire, Chairman of the Evaluation Panel, said: “We believe that recognising excellence is vital to raising standards, aiding progression in industries and increasing awareness. Just as importantly, it boosts both morale and innovation. This is the spirit behind our upcoming Global District Energy Climate Awards. The awards are a no-fee initiative designed for the sole purpose of recognising the very best of District Energy projects, schemes and initiatives.”

GEA wins at RAC Cooling Industry Awards

 

DUESSELDORF, Germany, 18 December 2020: GEA won in the ‘Contractor of the Year 2020’ category at the RAC Cooling Industry Awards, on December 9. In addition, GEA received a “highly commended” rating in the ‘Building Energy Project of the Year’ category, during a pandemic-induced virtual ceremony, organised and conducted by the British Refrigeration & Air Conditioning magazine (RAC), the company said through a Press release.

According to GEA, the award recognises companies that have made a special commitment to environmentally friendly and innovative solutions in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry. 

GEA bagged the ‘Contractor of the Year’ award for implementing the Quorn Foods project, which the company said involved installing a new compressor to improve performance – in parallel with replacing a faulty refrigeration system during a planned shutdown at the food manufacturer’s plant at its site in North Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom. The customer, as well as the judges of the RAC Cooling Industry Awards, were delighted with the solution it provided, GEA claimed. By investing in a GEA Grasso Conversion Kit (GGCK), Quorn Foods benefited from a larger compressor that replaced ageing equipment and increased cooling capacity by an additional seven per cent, GEA said. This not only improved the site’s efficiency, but also resulted in energy savings and a reduced carbon footprint, GEA claimed. GEA said it also upgraded the existing control system with a new OMNI Retrofit Panel control (GORP). The control and management system ensures optimal operation of the plant, it added.

Throughout the installation, the GEA Refrigeration Technologies team worked under great time pressure, with only 10 days available for all the work, GEA said, adding that it successfully completed the project in just five days and, as a result, Quorn Foods was able to restart production without interrupting the plant’s workflow.

GEA said the RAC Cooling Industry Awards judges praised its strong commitment at the awards. “GEA demonstrated great foresight and found a cost-effective solution for the customer within the given timeframe through its great expertise and decades of experience in refrigeration,” GEA quoted the judges as saying. “Furthermore, GEA also took the opportunity to improve the flexibility of the plant’s operation and realized energy savings.”

GEA said the jury of the Awards also praised its project for the Scottish premium ice cream manufacturer, Mackie’s, offering GEA a “Highly Commended” recognition for executing the project.

The Mackie’s project saw GEA replace the existing freezer at the ice cream maker’s Aberdeenshire plant with a design using an ammonia and CO2 low-carbon, energy-efficient cooling system to work alongside an absorption chiller. It was the first large-scale ice cream production plant in Scotland to combine biomass heat and absorption cooling, GEA said. The solution, it added, helped Mackie’s achieve its plan and ambitious target of CO2 reductions of 90% and energy cost savings of 70-80%