ATLANTA, Georgia, United States, 23 May 2023: Abstract submissions are now being accepted for the 2024 ASHRAE Winter Conference, to be held from January 20 to 24, 2024, at the Marriott Marquis Chicago, in the US state of Illinois, ASHRAE said through a Press release.

According to ASHRAE, the conference will focus on how IEQ/IAQ, decarbonization and energy efficiency can be holistically combined to benefit people and the environment.

“We spend approximately 90% of our lifetime indoors to shelter from adverse weather conditions, ensure our own safety, and accomplish our duties,” said Suzanne LeViseur, Technical Conference Chair. “Pollutant concentrations are typically 2-5 times higher indoors than outdoors. This implicitly entails the need for proper IEQ (Indoor Environmental Quality) and IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) to enable personal comfort, wellbeing (physical and mental), enhance productivity and promote equitable built environment.”

ASHRAE said it is inviting submission of conference papers on the following tracks:

The “Decarbonization and Climate Change” track, which will explore and highlight industry efforts in decarbonization and energy efficiency in the building sector

The “Hydronic Systems” track, which will focus on hydronic systems used in the built environment, such as chilled water systems, hot water systems and ground source heat pumps

The “Ventilation, Indoor Air Quality and Air Distribution Systems” track, which will look at how these various parameters work with and against each other when designing and constructing a finished space

The “Comfort, Indoor Environmental Quality and Energy Efficiency” track, which will address ASHRAE Standards 55, 62 and 90, as well as Guideline 10, and how they interact with each other when considering building design

The “HVAC&R Controls” track, which will examine various control strategies and their application within the built environment

The “Project Method Delivery” track, which will explore delivery methods, such as design-bid-build, design-build, construction manager at risk and indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity, and how they produce the best results for project delivery

The “Fundamentals and Applications” track, which will provide opportunities for papers of varying levels across a large topic base. Concepts, design elements and shared experiences for theoretical and applied concepts of HVAC&R design are included.

The “HVAC&R Systems and Equipment” track, which will focus on the development of new systems and equipment, improvements to existing systems and equipment and the proper application and operation of systems and equipment

The “Refrigerants and Refrigeration” track, which will explore refrigeration systems, which generate and use cold for a range of processes, from food preparation and conservation to vaccine preservation and long-term protection of fragile ancient inks of historical documents and others.

ASHRAE said abstracts – of 400 words or less – are due on June 28, 2023. If accepted, final conference papers (eight pages, maximum) are due on October 16, 2023, ASHRAE said.

In addition, technical papers – complete 30-page maximum papers – are also due on June 28, 2023, ASHRAE said.

All accepted papers, ASHRAE said, will be considered for publication in Science and Technology for the Built Environment, ASHRAE’s research journal. More information on the call for abstracts and the Winter Conference, ASHRAE said, is available at ashrae.org/2024Winter.