ASHRAE Research: Improving the Quality of Life

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Condi- annually, enabling ASHRAE to report new data about material
tioning Engineers is the world’s foremost technical society in the properties and building physics and to promote the application of
fields of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration. Its innovative technologies.
members worldwide ideas, identify needs, support research, and The chapters in ASHRAE Handbooks are updated through the
write the industry’s standards for testing and practice. The result is experience of members of ASHRAE technical committees and
that engineers are better able to keep indoor environments safe and through results of ASHRAE Research reported at ASHRAE meet-
productive while protecting and preserving the outdoors for gener- ings and published in ASHRAE special publications and in
ations to come. ASHRAE Transactions.
One of the ways that ASHRAE supports its members’ and indus- For information about ASHRAE Research or to become a mem-
try’s need for information is through ASHRAE Research. Thou- ber contact, ASHRAE, 1791 Tullie Circle, Atlanta, GA 30329; tele-
sands of individuals and companies support ASHRAE Research phone: 404-636-8400; www.ashrae.org.

The 2001 ASHRAE Handbook

The Fundamentals volume covers basic principles and provides • Chapter 27, Climatic Design Information, now contains new
data for the practice of HVAC&R technology. Although design data monthly, warm-season design values for some United States loca-
change little over time, research sponsored by ASHRAE and others tions. These values aid in consideration of seasonal variations in
continues to generate new information that meets the evolving solar geometry and intensity, building occupancy, and use patterns.
needs of the people and industries that rely on HVAC&R technol- • Chapter 29, Nonresidential Cooling and Heating Load Calcula-
ogy to improve the quality of life. The ASHRAE technical commit- tions, now contains enhanced data on internal loads, an expanded
tees that prepare chapters strive to provide new information, clarify description of the heat balance method, and the new, simplified
existing information, delete obsolete materials and reorganize chap- radiant time series (RTS) method.
ters to make the Handbook more understandable and easier to use. • Chapter 30, Fenestration, now has revised solar heat gain and vis-
In this volume, some of the changes and additions are as follows: ible transmittance sections, including information on the solar
• Chapter 1, Thermodynamics and Refrigeration Cycles, includes heat gain coefficients (SHGC) method. The chapter now also has
new sections on ideal thermal and absorption cycles, multiple a rewritten section on solar-optical properties of glazings, an
stage cycles, and thermodynamic representation of absorption expanded daylighting section, and a new section on occupant
cycles. The section on ammonia water cycles has been expanded. comfort and acceptance.
• Chapter 12, Air Contaminants, has undergone major revisions. • Chapter 31, Energy Estimating and Modeling Methods, now con-
Material has been added from the 1999 ASHRAE Handbook, tains improved model forms for both design and existing building
Chapter 44, Control of Gaseous Indoor Air Contaminants. performance analysis. A new section describes a simplified
Health-related material with standards and guidelines for expo- method for calculating heat flow through building foundations
sure has been moved to Chapter 9, Indoor Environmental Health. and basements. Sections on secondary equipment and bin-energy
• Chapter 15, Fundamentals of Control now includes new or method calculations have added information, while the section on
revised figures on discharge air temperature control, step input data-driven models has been rewritten and now illustrates the
process, and pilot positioners. New are sections on networking variable-base degree-day method.
and fuzzy logic, revised descriptions on dampers and modulating • Chapter 32, Space Air Diffusion, has been reorganized to be more
control, and text on chilled mirror humidity sensors and disper- user-friendly. The section on principles of jet behavior now
sive infrared technology. includes simpler equations with clearer tables and figures. Tem-
• Chapter 17, Energy Resources, contains new sections on sustain- perature profiles now accompany characteristics of different out-
ability and designing for effective energy resource use. lets, with stagnant regions identified. The section on underfloor
• Chapter 19, Refrigerants, provides information on phaseout of air distribution and task/ambient conditioning includes updates
CFC and HCFC refrigerants and includes new data on R-143a from recent ASHRAE-sponsored research projects.
and R-404A, R-407C, R-410A, R-507, R-508A, and R-508B • Chapter 33, HVAC Computational Fluid Dynamics, is a new
blends. chapter that provides an introduction to computational methods in
• Chapter 20, Thermophysical Properties of Refrigerants, has new flow modeling, including a description of computational fluid
data on R-143a and R-245fa. Though most CFC Refrigerants dynamics (CFD) with discussion of theory and capabilities.
have been removed from the chapter, R-12 has been retained to • Chapter 34, Duct Design, includes revisions to duct sealing
assist in making comparisons. Revised formulations have been requirements from ASHRAE Standard 90.1, and has been
used for many of the HFC refrigerants, conforming to interna- expanded to include additional common fittings, previously
tional standards where applicable. included in electronic form in ASHRAE’s Duct Fitting Database.
• Chapter 23, Thermal and Moisture Control in Insulated Assem- This Handbook is published both as a bound print volume and in
blies—Fundamentals, now has a reorganized section on eco- electronic format on a CD-ROM. It is available in two editions—
nomic insulation thickness, a revised surface condensation one contains inch-pound (I-P) units of measurement, and the other
section, and a new section on moisture analysis models. contains the International System of Units (SI).
• Chapter 26, Ventilation and Infiltration, includes rewritten stack Look for corrections to the 1998, 1999, and 2000 Handbooks on
pressure and wind pressure sections. New residential sections dis- the Internet at http://www.ashrae.org. Any changes in this volume
cuss averaging time variant ventilation, superposition methods, will be reported in the 2002 ASHRAE Handbook and on the
the enhanced (AIM-2) model, air leakage through automatic ASHRAE web site.
doors, and central air handler blowers in ventilation systems. The If you have suggestions for improving a chapter or you would
nonresidential ventilation section has also been rewritten, and like more information on how you can help revise a chapter, e-mail
now includes a commercial building envelope leakage measure- [email protected]; write to Handbook Editor, ASHRAE, 1791
ments summary. Tullie Circle, Atlanta, GA 30329; or fax 404-321-5478.