The 2019 ASHRAE and AHR Expo was held in Atlanta, Georgia on January 12th through 16th. According to ASHRAE, the conference attendance was 27,000 which is nearly half of the 56,000 worldwide members. During the conference there were approximately 300 educational presentations. The 2019 AHR Expo used RFID technology to track the number of attendees at 45,078. This is the first year that they have used this technology to track attendance. They reported over 1,800 exhibitors of which 497 were international from 35 countries.
This year’s AHR product of the year, from EnVerid Systems, was also named the 2019 Innovations Award winner in the Green Building category. EnVerid makes a molecular air cleaning device that reduces the outdoor air load on a building and reduces the HVAC energy consumption by 20-30%. When planning the HVAC for new buildings, chances are that adding this technology to the design will result in an immediate pay-back by reducing first-capital expense with smaller HVAC and associated electrical.
The 2020 ASHRAE is scheduled for February 1st-5th, 2020 and AHR Expo for February 3rd-5th in Orlando, Florida. We should also mention the upcoming 2019 ASHRAE Summer Conference will be held June 22nd-26th right here in Kansas City. There are a number of volunteer opportunities to work at the summer conference that offer free attendance in trade. Contact the local Kansas City ASHRAE Chapter for additional information: https://www.kcashrae.org