Dear Golden Gate ASHRAE members and friends,

The month of May has arrived, and with it the rising temperatures of summer weather! There is nothing like a heat wave to remind us of how necessary the “AC” component is of the HVAC industry that we are. What a huge impact just a few degrees can make on the comfort of people when the weather is hot. Of course, the challenge for us is to use less energy to achieve this improved comfort!

We learned about one such energy conserving approach at our April dinner meeting. Marco Alves and John Paul Peterson of PAE (which we learned stands for Pretty Awesome Engineers) described the approach using geothermal heat transfer systems. The results of the case studies that were presented were truly impressive. One aspect of particular significance was the creative ways that are used to reduce the capital expense of the required bores (either vertical or horizontal). The examples presented used building foundation feature or existing remedial excavation which were already required aspects of the construction process. Another notable beneficial byproduct of using geothermal is the very low sound performance and reduced site equipment. We learned that geothermal can be a great option when matched with a good site, a forward looking owner, and developer team. Thanks to Isabelle Lavedrine for another great evening program.

If you were in attendance at the meeting you may recall a suggestion being made to try seating assignments for future meetings. One of the benefits to attending meetings is mixing with your friends and colleagues and meeting new people. We have discussed having seating assignments during our board meetings and agree that, as a chapter, this will help stimulate new conversations and therefore more sharing of ideas. It was agreed during the meeting that we should try this and if it works well, that we could consider table assignment every other meeting. As we try this new approach please let us know what you think.

I am looking forward to our Product Show and Awards dinner meeting on Thursday May 23rd. It is the most popular meeting of the year when we announce our award winners and scholarship recipients as well as host our products show from our many member vendors. Please plan now to attend.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Respectfully Yours,

Thomas S. Weaver, P.E.