Thousands Gather in Baltimore for HVACR Week

HVACR Week 2010 lived up to its billing as "the place where the industry meets," as more than 2,000 buildings professionals—mechanical engineers, facility managers, commercial and residential contractors, manufacturers—gathered in Baltimore for three days of education, networking, and fun.

Produced and managed by HPAC Engineering and sibling publication Contracting Business, the second annual HVACR Week—held Sept. 22-24 at the Baltimore Convention Center—consisted of three main events: HPAC Engineering's Engineering Green Buildings (EGB) Conference, in its seventh year, and Contracting Business' HVAC Comfortech and Commercial HVACR Symposium, in their 14th and second years, respectively.

"HVACR Week creates an educational, networking, and product-showcase event that truly represents all aspects of the HVACR industry," Mike Weil, editorial director of HPAC Engineering and Contracting Business, said. "It's new. It's now. It's here. This really is the place to be for HVACR professionals. HVACR Week attracts leaders from every corner of the industry. They're the movers and shakers who make HVACR go."

For many, a highlight of HVACR Week 2010 was the keynote address sponsored by Trane and delivered by Mike Eruzione, captain of the "Miracle on Ice" gold-medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team.

"I've never met a person in my life who was successful because they were lucky," Eruzione told attendees. "Success is a result of the time and effort you put into it.

"People and companies are successful because they believe in old-fashioned values," Eruzione continued. "They have a work ethic, pride, commitment, and respect. They're not afraid to come to work each day and roll up their sleeves with the goal of being the best.

"When you'’re in an atmosphere where everyone believes they can accomplish anything, that's a great place to be," Eruzione concluded. "Have fun. Enjoy what you're doing. Understand how you're going to pursue your goals: through time, effort, and work."

Also rating high among attendees were the welcome reception, sponsored by Emerson Climate Technologies, and the Thursday Night Extravaganza, sponsored by LG Commercial Air Conditioning and Rheem/Ruud and held at the Maryland Science Center.

The EGB portion of HVACR Week consisted of six sessions:

• In "Building Energy Rating Systems: Which Is Right for You?" Peter C. D'Antonio, PE, CEM, LEED AP, provided a practical stepped approach to using the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED green-building certification program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy's ENERGY STAR program, and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers' Building Energy Quotient program.
• In "Practical Energy Benchmarking for Commercial, Institutional, and Light-Industrial Facilities," HPAC Engineering Editorial Advisory Board member Gary W. Wamsley, PE, CEM, discussed a means of tracking the energy performance of a facility using a single-page Excel spreadsheet.
• In "Reducing Data-Center Energy Use Without Compromising Uptime," HPAC Engineering Editorial Advisory Board member Don Beaty, PE, FASHRAE, discussed ways to reduce data-center energy consumption without affecting the availability and performance of mission-critical systems.
• In "Smart Grid: What It Means to the HVAC Industry," Anto Budiardjo explained what Smart Grid is, discussed how it will impact the HVAC industry, and identified business opportunities.
• In "Best Practices for Specifying and Purchasing Commissioning for Schools," HPAC Engineering Editorial Advisory Board member Ron Wilkinson, PE, LEED AP, discussed the specification and purchase of commissioning for schools for the best results at the lowest price.
• In "Constant Commissioning for Continual Energy Efficiency," Jon Greenberg, CEM, LEED AP, discussed how mitigating performance "drift" can lead to increased energy efficiency and sustained operating-cost reductions.

"There's lots of education here," Ramon Hernandez, president of R&R Mechanical in Philadelphia, said.

Pat Nugent, president of John Nugent & Sons in McLean, Va., closed his company for an entire day and brought 50 employees to the event.

"We're here to improve our company by staying up to date on cutting-edge ideas," Nugent said.

HVACR Week 2011 will be held Sept. 21-23 in Indianapolis. Visit www.hvacrweek.com for updates.

HPAC Engineering is accepting proposals for sessions for EGB 2011. Contact Executive Editor Scott Arnold at scott.arnold@penton.com.

Terry McIver and Kate Kelly of Contracting Business contributed to this report.