AMCA Members-Only Newsletter

June 30, 2020

MEETINGS AND EVENTS

Webinar: New Fan Efficiency Requirements in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2019
July 1, 10 a.m. ET
Register

AMCA insite “Pop-up” Webinar: Density Calculations: Calculating Density for Use in Fan Systems
July 14, 1 p.m. ET
Register

AMCA insite “Pop-up” Webinar: 2019 California Building Code (Life Safety Damper Requirements)
July 29, 3 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

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  • Match product type to certification type.
  • Obtain guide-specification language for each certification offered through the AMCA Certified Ratings Program (CRP).
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  • Search the CRP database.
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AMCA White Papers

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AMCA inmotion Media Kit

AMCA Holds 2020 North America Region Meeting Virtually


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Set for April 27 and 28 in Rosemont, Ill., but cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 AMCA North America Region Meeting was held virtually May 28.

Ninety people—72 employees of AMCA member companies and 18 AMCA staff—were in attendance.

“Obviously, we would much rather be doing this in person, but … the group decided it was best we schedule a virtual meeting and not skip where we are for this general session,” Mark Belke, chair of the AMCA North America Region, said in calling the meeting to order.

State of the Association

First on the agenda was AMCA Executive Director Mark Stevens’ State of the Association address.

Stevens reported Asia overtook North America in terms of number of members, 162-160, near the end of 2019. The Middle East (35 members) and Europe (31 members) continue to grow on similar trajectories, with approximately one to three new members a year.

Two hundred ninety-three AMCA members manufacture air-movement products, while 200 manufacture air-control products, 48 manufacture acoustical-attenuation products, and 14 manufacture airflow-measurement products. This distribution generally mirrors the ones seen in North America and Asia. In Europe, members predominantly manufacture air-movement products, while in the Middle East, most members manufacture acoustical-attenuation or air-control products.

Product certifications are relatively flat, at 3,927.

“I don’t think this reflects a plateau in demand,” Stevens said. “… This is more of a reflection of the rollout of AMCA Connect, where we essentially went from a paper environment to an electronic environment in regard to the CRP. And there, we essentially are doing a much better job in regard to who’s in, who’s out of the Certified Ratings Program, especially in regard to brand naming of products that are already certified. So, this reflects a more accurate effort in the CRP count.”

Citing a near doubling of laboratory accreditations over the last decade, Stevens assured: “The demand for AMCA certification continues to grow. … The majority of companies that apply for lab accreditation do so with an interest in certifying product. … I take this as our bellwether as far as the health of the association.”

The Americas still have the lion’s share of certifications, but numbers in Asia, most notably in China, are rising. The Middle East is certifying at a much greater pace than Europe, despite having a similar number of members, a trend that will continue “as long as the specification of AMCA certification in that region continues to grow,” Stevens said.

Stevens reviewed changes to the AMCA bylaws that were approved in late 2019 and will take effect July 1, namely:

  • The elimination of the Joint Member category and the replacement of the Global Member category with a Group Member category, a move made primarily to (1) close a loophole in the assessment structure allowing certain members to take advantage of a much lower assessment cap and (2) to grow membership by lowering the membership entry barrier, Stevens said.
  • The review of electronic catalogs of non-licensees by AMCA staff. “The reason this came about is that, outside of North America, we had some AMCA members that were essentially publishing two different performances for the same product: One was in a catalog and the other was in a fan-selection program,” Stevens explained. Because these were non-licensed companies, AMCA had no means of confirming whether a violation of the AMCA bylaws was taking place. Stevens was quick to add that the new provision will be used sparingly: “If we get a complaint and the complaint appears to us to be legitimate and there is some other evidence that corroborates, this is sort of a last resort.”
  • The transfer of the authority to locate AMCA’s principal office from a concurrence of AMCA membership to the AMCA board of directors.
  • Clarification of the definition of provisional member.
  • The restriction of access to statistical-program data. In fairness to Full Members, who cannot access statistical data if they do not participate in the statistical program, Associates, whose products are not covered by the statistical program, no longer will have access to statistical data, Stevens said.
  • The addition of provisions for regional steering committees.

Stevens also discussed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on AMCA’s operations.

On March 30, “with the approval of the board, we stopped calling manufacturing check tests, so we’ll have to get back to the board if we want to start that up again, which I anticipate they will approve,” Stevens said. “We’re primarily doing contract and precert tests; however, if we have some check-test units in house, we’ll test them—if we can fit them in and it works.”

Stevens reported laboratory revenue has been holding steady:

“We had enough backlog and enough contract-testing demand to keep us going.”

There have been no AMCA face-to-face meetings since March, and no AMCA face-to-face meetings are scheduled for the remainder of 2020. Meanwhile, staff travel has been suspended, which has impacted staffing and assignments.

“We’re beginning to build up a backlog of companies that want to continue on their lab-accreditation path, so we’re going to have to figure out what we’re going to do about that,” Stevens said.

Progress on the Strategic Plan

AMCA Senior Director, Global Affairs Michael Ivanovich; AMCA Director of Marketing, Membership, and Education Robb Clawson; and AMCA Technical Director Nazme Mohsina provided updates on the three tenets of AMCA’s 2018-2021 strategic plan: advocate, educate, and certify, respectively.

Ivanovich reported that, in January, AMCA petitioned the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to restart the rulemaking for a federal test procedure for commercial and industrial fans and blowers and to base the test procedure on AMCA Standard 214, Model Fan Efficiency Regulation for Stand-Alone Commercial and Industrial Fans, which is in development. The petition was cosigned by Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association and Air Conditioning Contractors of America. The purpose behind the petition is to harmonize fan-energy-index (FEI) definitions and test procedures across states and accelerate phaseout of fan-efficiency-grade provisions in state energy codes.

“Personally, my gut feeling is that DOE will not grant the petition, and then we’ll see where we go from there,” Ivanovich said, adding that, given the deregulation bent of the Trump administration, AMCA “at the very least … should be proud that we put our best foot forward to get what we would believe to be the best rulemaking that we could get for commercial and industrial fans and blowers for our members so that we could avert state-by-state regulation.” Should the Democrats win the White House in November, Ivanovich said, “my personal view is that the fan relationship would start up again.”

FEI soon will be in all of the model energy codes and standards—ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2019, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings; ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES 189.1-2020, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings; the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code; and the 2021 International Green Construction Code—and has been proposed for the Florida and Connecticut energy codes, Ivanovich reported.

Clawson shared that online educational modules on fan-system effect, air-system acoustics, FEI, and various other fan-related topics are in the AMCA pipeline. In addition to these fee-based, professional-development-hour-eligible offerings, AMCA is developing two “freemium” online educational modules of interest primarily to AMCA members: one on the mechanics of the CRP and one on the responsibilities of a committee chair.

Clawson also reported on the AMCA statistics program’s new data-input system, which accepts both direct entries and Microsoft Excel entries, a capability that members had requested. He encouraged members not currently contributing data to the program to consider doing so, which, he said, would make the program “that much more robust, much more accurate, and much more helpful to members as well as to the organization for helping to fill requests that we might be getting for general tracking, etc. of the industry.”

Mohsina reported on a number of initiatives, including:

  • The ASHRAE V-belt project, which, she said, had a successful first test the previous week. AMCA still is accepting historical data on drives from members and is seeking donations of belts and pulleys for testing.
  • AMCA continuing to list manufacturers of products with Energy Star certification.
  • AMCA’s certification of jet fans. “If you are interested in testing or certification, please let us know,” she said.
  • AMCA’s testing of large-diameter ceiling fans. Fans up to 18 feet in diameter are tested at AMCA headquarters in Arlington Heights, Ill., while larger fans are tested at Sears Centre Arena in nearby Hoffman Estates, Ill. “We are fully prepared to provide testing of your fan up to 24 feet,” Mohsina said.
  • The implementation of a new test apparatus for air curtains.
  • The formation of a task force to solve repeatability issues with wind-driven-rain tests of louvers. Nine volunteers from six AMCA member companies serve on the task force, which meets every two weeks.
  • Efforts to improve testing of small (0.25 to 3 hp) electronically commutated motors.

“The pandemic we are all going through is unprecedented,” Mohsina said. “During this time of uncertainty, one thing you can be certain is that we remain committed to support you, our members, and the HVAC industry as a whole.”

Committee Status Reports

AMCA Director of Publications & Standards Joe Brooks, PE, reported the committee tasked with developing new AMCA Standard 270, Laboratory Methods of Testing Fan Arrays for Rating, convened for the first time in April and is meeting approximately every two weeks. Led by Chair Harold Dubensky of Johnson Controls and Vice Chair John Bade of 2050 Partners Inc., with 18 voting members and 12 non-voting members, the committee decided to limit the standard to aerodynamic performance and direct-driven fans and to not include vibration.

Brooks also provided updates on the work of two task forces formed last year by the Damper Engineering Committee: one studying damper-casing leakage to determine if a test standard or certified ratings program is needed and the other exploring the testing and certification of economizer dampers. Brooks said results of initial testing of damper-casing leakage conducted prior to the pandemic were inconclusive, while, following a slowdown in work, the economizer-damper task force will be “re-energized.”

AMCA Advocacy Manager Aaron Gunzner reported the closing date for public comments on the second drafts of the next (2022) editions of NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives, and NFPA 105, Standard for Smoke Door Assemblies and Other Opening Protectives, was May 6.

“AMCA did not submit any comments that would modify the remote-testing-and-inspection allowance for life-safety dampers in the 2019 editions,” Gunzner said, “but we will respond to any external comments on the topic when those are made publicly available by NFPA (National Fire Protection Association).”

The public comments, Gunzner continued, will be the main topic of discussion during the next meetings of the NFPA 80 and NFPA 105 technical committees, which will be held virtually Oct. 6-8.

Gunzner also reported that the scope of AMCA’s contract with fire-and-life-safety-code consultant Bill Koffel was expanded to include state-level monitoring and that volunteers are sought for a code-proposal task force for the International Mechanical Code and the Uniform Mechanical Code.

“We are thinking that the total time commitment for a member of this task force would be about six hours between now and January, when proposals are due,” Gunzner said. “The task force would receive input and suggestions from The Hickman Group for likely or possibly desired code provisions, then develop updated code language and substantiating comments for the proposals. If you are interested, please don’t hesitate to contact me.”

Brooks then returned to provide updates on activities of various AMCA louver committees, including:

  • The Louver Engineering Committee assisting AMCA staff in looking into the possibility of building a high-velocity-wind-driven-rain facility at AMCA headquarters.
  • The Louver Engineering Committee deciding ANSI/AMCA Standard 500-L, Laboratory Methods of Testing Louvers for Rating, and AMCA Publication 511, Certified Ratings Program Product Rating Manual for Air Control Devices, will not be changed to allow louvers to be tested with perforated plates on their inlets.
  • The formation of a subcommittee to develop a white paper on the effect of perforated plates.

Following a question-and-answer session, Belke thanked the audience for attending, noting the 2020 AMCA Annual Meeting was rescheduled for Jan. 27, 2021.

“Ideally, that’s a face-to-face and, hopefully, by then we’re back to what we consider to be traditional business for all of us,” Belke said, adding, however, “I’m confident going forward if we need to continue with more online meetings such as this that we’ll be able to be successful in doing that.”

For the presentation slides and a video recording of the 2020 AMCA North America Region Meeting, log in to the members area of the AMCA website.


2020 AMCA Annual Meeting Rescheduled


Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, Chicago.

The 2020 AMCA Annual Meeting, originally scheduled to take place Nov. 16-20 in Dubai but cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, will now be held Jan. 27, 2021, from 8 a.m. to noon at Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, Chicago, coinciding with the third and final day of the 2021 International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo) at nearby McCormick Place.

After the meeting in Dubai was deemed by the AMCA Executive Committee to be unviable in light of uncertainties stemming from the pandemic and cancelled in April, AMCA staff asked individuals from AMCA member companies to vote for one of three options for conducting the business of the 2020 AMCA Annual Meeting: find a new location in the United States and hold the meeting between November and February, hold the meeting in conjunction with the 2021 AHR Expo, or conduct the meeting virtually with electronic/paper ballots.

Stay tuned for further announcements.


‘Pop-up’ Webinars Go Boom


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In April, with much of the world in lockdown and business travel for many suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, AMCA Director of Marketing, Membership, and Education Robb Clawson and AMCA Education Manager Lisa Cherney saw an opportunity to help fill the professional-development void left by the cancellation of conferences and seminars everywhere: They would quickly develop a series of free credit-earning webinars on various air-systems-related topics.

Settling on the rather ambitious goal of 10 webinars in 10 weeks, the education team went to work recruiting presenters, starting with members of the AMCA Speakers Network. After the first several “pop-up” webinars were announced, prospective presenters started calling AMCA. Before long, the 10-webinars-in-10-weeks schedule was set:

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

Each of the webinars was recorded and is available for viewing on demand at www.amca.org/webinar.

Based on attendee response, AMCA extended the series, with two bonus pop-up webinars in July:

  • July 14, 1 p.m. ET: “Density Calculations: Calculating Density for Use in Fan Systems,” presented by Bill Howarth.
  • July 29, 3 p.m. ET: “2019 California Building Code (Life Safety Damper Requirements),” presented by Daniel Benton.

An individual needs to register only once to view any or all of the pop-up webinars. To date, 1,290 individuals have registered, with 440 attending at least one webinar; 30 individuals attended each of the first 10 webinars. Attendance has ranged from 135 to 356 (“Basics of Large-Diameter Ceiling Fans”); the average attendance is 218. A total of 1,208 professional-development hours have been issued.

Starting in August, AMCA will return to single registrations for webinars. Stay tuned for announcements.

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


Work on 2020 Edition of AMCA inmotion Begins

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Production of the 2020 edition of award-winning AMCA inmotion magazine is under way.

The content is being prepared by AMCA committee and staff members and professionals closely aligned with AMCA and will be 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 (titles subject to change) are:

  • “Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI) in Commercial Air Systems.”
  • “Mitigating Fan-System Effect.”
  • “Field Modifications of Life-Safety Dampers.”
  • “Straightening Out Fan Curves.”
  • “Fans for High-Temperature Environments: Considerations and Precautions.”
  • “The Market for Variable-Air-Volume Systems.”

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

AMCA once again is partnering with ASHRAE for publication and distribution of AMCA inmotion. ASHRAE will polybag and mail 53,000 physical copies of the 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion with the October 2020 issue of ASHRAE Journal, reaching building-system-design and industrial-processes professionals in North America and the Middle East, and with the Winter 2021 issue of High Performing Buildings (HPB) magazine, reaching architects, building owners, facility managers, and engineers who do not receive ASHRAE Journal. Digitally, the 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion will be e-mailed to more than 55,000 ASHRAE Journal subscribers and 60,000 HPB subscribers. Online, the 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion will be available for free downloading on AMCA’s and ASHRAE’s websites.

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.

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.

An ASHRAE Media representative will be in contact to offer exclusive advertising opportunities, which are available only to AMCA member companies, AMCA associates, and companies represented on AMCA committees. In the meantime, 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.

Questions about AMCA inmotion content should be directed to Scott Arnold at [email protected] or +1 847-704-6335.


AMCA Seeking Volunteers to Revise Positive-Pressure-Ventilators Standard 240


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AMCA is seeking volunteers—manufacturers, members of the firefighting industry, fan-testing-laboratory workers, product consumers, and regulators in particular—to serve on a technical committee responsible for reviewing and revising ANSI/AMCA Standard 240, Laboratory Methods of Testing Positive Pressure Ventilators for Aerodynamic Performance Rating.


AMCA Standard 240 establishes a uniform method of laboratory testing the aerodynamic performance of positive-pressure ventilators (PPVs) in terms of airflow rate, pressure, air density, and rotational speed for performance rating or guarantee purposes.

In addition to conducting a periodic review of the standard, the committee will be tasked with adding requirements for battery-operated PPVs. The review and revision process is expected to take approximately two months.

To volunteer, click here and complete and submit the form by the close of business on July 7. For more information, contact AMCA Project Manager/Technical Editor Shruti Kohli-Bhargava at [email protected].

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