ASHRAE to conduct LowDown Showdown building competition

Atlanta, Georgia, USA, August 29, 2017: ASHRAE will be conducting the LowDown Showdown competition, during the Building Performance Analysis Conference, from September 27 and 29 in Atlanta.

According to ASHRAE, the Showdown seeks to broaden the industry’s ability to engage architects, engineers, designers and energy modellers to create an effective workflow and an outstanding design in real-word building-efficiency challenges. The contest will encourage participants to work as an integrated team to use their design and modelling skills to create a near-net-zero-energy building.

“The goal of the competition is to challenge participating teams to provide the most up-to-date best practices, work flows and processes required to plan, design, construct and operate a high-performing, low-energy-consuming building that is environmentally responsive and responsible, safe, secure and healthy for human occupancy,” said Dennis Knight, Conference Chair.

According to ASHRAE, this year, teams will be tested with a real building that was constructed in the 1970s. The building has a traditional VAV reheat system in the office areas and is similar to thousands around the United States. It is located in a challenging northern Virginia climate, and it has large storage areas, which have very specific temperature and humidity requirements.

Each competing team will create an energy model and submit a results spreadsheet, narrative and poster using templates provided. Teams will be judged on their design’s energy use, practicality, and calibration, as well as their teamwork, creativity and overall presentation.