Industry News: Department of Energy and ASHRAE Sign Agreement to Improve Building Energy Standards

While the United States Department of Energy (DOE) gets plenty of press for solar panels, wind farms and electric cars, it's often times the less flashy stories that yield the most positive progress. Take for instance the recent announcement that the DOE has signed an agreement with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers - better known as ASHRAE - that will work towards improving building energy standards that reduce cost and pollution nationwide. 

The agreement outlines cooperation on the following goals:

• Increase research collaboration to promote the transfer of new technologies to building owners and managers
• Ensure the compatibility of building energy software
• Support education for building designers
• Implement counter-terrorism design features in buildings
• Minimize the impact of energy use on the environment

From an industry perspective, data center managers will appreciate the pursuit of better education, software, security, and energy efficiency in future builds and upgrades, not to mention the important role that ASHRAE stands to play in the continuing unification and standardization of such guidelines. 

Earlier this year, ASHRAE also introduced the 2011 Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments - Expanded Data Center Classes and Usage Guidance. Prepared by the ASHRAE Technical Committee (TC) 9.9,this white paperhighlights the recent trend towards higher operating set points in the data center by widening the gap on acceptable temperature and humidity ranges for servers. Why the shift? As more efficient methods of cooling become prevalent - such as the hot air isolation ofCPI's Passive Cooling®- data centers can better manage higher heat loads while continuing to pack in even more compute power.