It's about warming and new ways of cooling - to the controls evolution - soldiers and citizens alike - editor's note

Engineered Systems, August, 2003 by Robert Beverly

Thanks to Ken Sinclair's column, you've probably gotten the idea that it's not exactly business as usual in the building automation industry these days. Ken has been a tireless reporter, organizer, and cheerleader in his efforts to raise awareness, interest, and most importantly, activity in the HVAC world to prepare for the developing phase of evolution in building systems.

This month, we're giving the subject a slightly higher profile than usual as Anto Budiardjo checks in with his take on where this is all headed, and why. As you might recall, Budiardjo is the president of Clasma, Inc., the consulting company that created the first BuilConn event a few months ago. I mentioned it in this space after I returned because it made quite an impression with its overall organization, its unconventional breakfast music, and its emphasis on cross-industry literacy among professionals in HVAC, IT, and security.

As this month's cover illustrates, when it comes to tomorrow's building systems, somebody will be pulling the strings on who does what and how things work as integration is raised to a new level. Whether HVAC is helping to direct the show or spending more time getting yanked around--that depends on the effort to adapt on the front end of the transition.

COOLING HOTSPOTS AROUND THE WORLD

A couple of HVAC-related mentions in the realm of current events have caught my eye recently. When blackouts in Baghdad and around Iraq started lasting longer than expected, the accompanying press reports mentioned the need for electricity for office equipment, and for a variety of items relying on power, but air conditioning often took top billing after blackouts and before everything else.

As your local police department can probably tell you, crime goes up in hot weather. People who don't have air conditioning will get out of the house or apartment; people who are constantly uncomfortable from the heat will tend to lose patience faster in a tense situation, and so on. (Civilians aside, can you imagine how the soldiers deal with 116-degree heat in all that protective gear?) It's certainly no situation to make light of, but I'm only half-joking: maybe our effort to establish the peace in Baghdad would go just a little bit more smoothly if we shipped and distributed a few more spot cooling and window units for commercial and institutional locations? In an environment plagued by both heat and suspicion, a little chill is unmistakable goodwill.

The other news involved last month's commissioning of the USS Ronald Reagan, the United States' newset Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. You expect stories about the developments in weaponry or in the new deck that will allow planes to arrive and take off simultaneously, but every single story I saw on the subject made a point of mentioning the increased capacity of the air conditioning system as well.

LEGIONNAIRE'S COMEBACK

For a while, our cooling tower coverage often focused on proper techniques for preventing the formation or spread of the virus causing Legionnaire's disease. We later eased away from the topic, feeling like we'd delivered the message and noting that the problem seemed to be subsiding from earlier peaks. Well, as of mid-July, the CDC reports a 43% increase in reported cases of legionellosis over the same year-to-date numbers from 2002. Maybe it's time to revisit the topic.

In the interim, the Association of Water Technologies has published an update addressing general facts, sources, transmission, testing, and treatment of the disease. You can download a PDF of the paper from the trade association's website by visiting www.awt.org/Legionella03.pdf. If you deal with water treatment and/or the systems relying on that water, take a look.