AMCA Members-Only Newsletter

July 31, 2020

MEETINGS AND EVENTS

AMCA insite Webinar: Laboratory Exhaust-Fan Selection—Considering Energy Consumption; the Next Step: Exhaust Stack Discharge Volume Reduction (ESDVR)
Sept. 16, 2 p.m. ET.
Register

AMCA insite Webinar: Environmental Noise Due to Fans and Equipment
Sept. 30, 2 p.m. ET.
Register

AMCA insite Webinar: Basics of Fan Noise
Oct. 14, 2 p.m. ET.
Register

2020 AMCA Annual Meeting
Jan. 27, 2021
8 a.m. to noon
Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, Chicago
More information

AMCA Spec Check

Have you downloaded AMCA's free mobile app, Spec Check? Available for iPhone and Android devices with automatic updates, Spec Check allows you to:

  • Match product type to certification type.
  • Obtain guide-specification language for each certification offered through the AMCA Certified Ratings Program (CRP).
  • Identify seals, CRP publications, and test standards for each certification type.
  • Send guide-specification language and document references via e-mail or text message.
  • Search the CRP database.
  • Search for AMCA members.
  • Download AMCA white papers.

Download Spec Check today!

Update Your AMCA Library

Click here to shop for AMCA technical documents, including the revised AMCA Publication 211, Certified Ratings Program Product Rating Manual for Fan Air Performance, and ANSI/AMCA Standard 500-D, Laboratory Methods of Testing Dampers for Rating.

Click here to learn more about CETIAT's AMCA CRP fan-testing capabilities.

AMCA White Papers

Stay abreast of topics that are top of mind for AMCA and its members. Check out AMCA's white-paper library by clicking here.

2020 AMCA inmotion Media Kit

Next Best Thing to Being There: AMCA to Unveil Virtual Witness Testing

Screenshot of demonstration of AMCA’s planned virtual-witness-test offering.

With all in-person witness testing at the AMCA International laboratory in Arlington Heights, Ill., suspended until further notice because of the coronavirus pandemic, the AMCA laboratory team is putting in place a virtual option.


“We wanted to find a way to allow members to view the testing and give their input safely and efficiently,” AMCA Laboratory Engineer Greg McKinnon, who is spearheading the project with AMCA Technical Director Nazme Mohsina and AMCA Director of Information Technology Bruce Hackett, said. “Keeping our staff and our members safe is the priority.”

Through live streaming, AMCA members will be able to view testing of their products and interact with AMCA laboratory staff in real time over the Internet.

AMCA recently purchased a number of cameras—waterproof cameras for wind-driven-rain and water-penetration tests and smaller mobile cameras—for the virtual witness testing. The cameras, which will be fully controlled by AMCA laboratory staff, have pan, zoom, tilt, and focus capabilities enabling 360-degree viewing. The goal, McKinnon explained, is “to allow members to really have a full experience, as if they were right there in the lab with us."


Ultimately, the system should make witness testing more efficient and more economical, McKinnon said.

“We’re planning on offering optional add-ons that members can choose from when signing up for virtual witness testing,” McKinnon said. “This includes having the test session recorded for members to view later, choosing between a number of viewing angles, and deciding how much of the process our members want to witness, whether it’s from setup to takedown, just the actual test, or something in between."


Mohsina said she foresees virtual witness testing being offered even after the pandemic.

“We are taking decisive measures to support our members, even in challenging times like these,” Mohsina added. “With virtual witness testing, we can handle the current situation in the best possible way and continue to meet the needs of our members while adapting to the new norm.”

AMCA intends to launch virtual witness testing in August. For more information, contact the AMCA laboratory.


AMCA insiteTM Webinars Set to Return


Credit: Sashkin/Bigstock

The regular AMCA insiteTM webinar series will return in late summer, following the broadcast of the 12th and final event in AMCA’s successful series of “pop-up” webinars recently.

Confirmed so far are:

Registration details for the Oct. 28, Nov. 18, and Dec. 9 webinars will be announced soon.

Each of the webinars will be free to attend and worth one professional-development hour through Registered Continuing Education Program.

Developed for HVAC and buildings professionals working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic, the 12 pop-up webinars generated 1,330 registrations. The series consisted of:

  • “System Effects: AMCA Publication 201—Changing the Curve,” presented by William “Bill” Howarth on April 21.
  • “Design Tips for Fire and Smoke Barriers,” presented by William “Bill” Koffel on April 30.
  • “The Fundamentals of Airflow,” presented by Jason Meinke on May 6.
  • “2018 International Building Code Overview: Life Safety Damper Section 717,” presented by James Carlin on May 14.
  • “Basics of Large-Diameter Ceiling Fans,” presented by Christian Taber on May 21.
  • “Fiberglass Reinforced Polymer (FRP) as an Alternative to Stainless Steel,” presented by Doug Ross on May 27.
  • “Balance and Vibration,” presented by Rad Ganesh on June 3.
  • “Louvers 101—‘Basic’ Training,” presented by Jim Smardo on June 9.
  • “Factory Process and Equipment Noise—Engineered Controls,” presented by John Sofra on June 18.
  • “Severe Duty Louver Testing & Certifications,” presented by Doug Petty on June 24.
  • “Density Calculations: Calculating Density for Use in Fan Systems,” presented by William “Bill” Howarth on July 14.
  • “2019 California Building Code—Life Safety Damper Requirements,” presented by Daniel Benton on July 29.

A recording of each of the webinars is available for viewing on demand at www.amca.org/webinar.

For more information about AMCA webinars, including presenting and sponsorship opportunities, contact AMCA Education Manager Lisa Cherney at +1 847-704-6328 or [email protected].


Advertising Deadlines for 2020 Edition of AMCA inmotion Approaching


Credit: Dean Drobot/Bigstock

It is not too late to support AMCA in its mission to “advance the knowledge of air systems … on behalf of AMCA members worldwide” by advertising in the 2020 edition of award-winning AMCA inmotion magazine.

The deadline for advertising orders is Aug. 31, while the deadline for advertising materials is Sept. 4.

AMCA once again is partnering with ASHRAE for publication and distribution of AMCA inmotion. ASHRAE will mail approximately 70,000 copies of the 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion with the October issue of ASHRAE Journal, reaching building-system-design and industrial-processes professionals, and to architects, building owners, facility managers, and engineers subscribed to High Performing Buildings (HPB) magazine who do not receive ASHRAE Journal. Digitally, the 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion will be e-mailed to more than 115,000 ASHRAE Journal and HPB subscribers. Online, the 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion will be available for free downloading at AMCA.org and ASHRAE.org.

Print copies of the 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion additionally will be distributed at the 2021 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo)—“the world’s largest HVACR event”—Jan. 25-27 in Chicago.

The content for the 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion is being prepared by AMCA committee and staff members and professionals closely aligned with AMCA and is being edited by AMCA Manager of Industry Content Scott Arnold, who, prior to joining AMCA in 2017, was an editor for HPAC Engineering magazine for 18 years.

Feature articles planned for the 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion are:

  • “Engineering Guidance for Air and Surface Disinfection Using UV-C Light.”
  • “Mitigating System Effect to Optimize Fan Performance and Efficiency.”
  • “Field Modifications of Life-Safety Dampers.”
  • “Straightening Out Fan Curves.”
  • “High-Temperature Industrial Fans: Failures and Fixes.”
  • “Trends in Ventilation-System Application.”

The 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion also will include updates from AMCA’s Asia (recently published Chinese standard GB 19761-2020, Minimum Allowable Values of Energy Efficiency and Energy Efficiency Grades for Fan), Europe (the HVAC sector in the European Union after the COVID-19 crisis), and Middle East (what the future holds for the buildings sector following COVID-19) regions.

For descriptions of the articles, please see the 2020 AMCA inmotion media kit.

Last year, the 2018 edition of AMCA inmotion took home the award for Annual Publication or Brochure and an honorable mention for External Publication or Report (online or print) in the PRNEWS CSR & Nonprofit Awards program and an honorable mention for External Publication in the PRNEWS Platinum PR Awards program. This year, the 2019 edition is the winner of a Bronze Stevie Award in the Other Publication—Association or Non-Profit category of the 18th Annual American Business Awards program and one of three finalists for Annual Publication or Brochure in the PRNEWS CSR & Nonprofit Awards program.

Advertising in AMCA inmotion is open only to AMCA members, AMCA associates, and companies represented on AMCA committees. For more information, please see the 2020 AMCA inmotion media kit or contact Greg Martin, ASHRAE Media Advertising, at [email protected] or +1 678-539-1174.

For more information about AMCA inmotion content, contact Scott Arnold at [email protected] or +1 847-704-6335.

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