MEETINGS AND EVENTS

AMCA insite “Pop-up” Webinar: Balance and Vibration
June 3, 1 p.m. ET
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AMCA insite “Pop-up” Webinar: Louvers 101
June 9, 1 p.m. ET
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AMCA insite “Pop-up” Webinar: Facility and Factory Equipment Noise—Engineered Controls
June 18, noon ET
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AMCA insite “Pop-up” Webinar: Severe-Duty Louvers and Their Applications
June 24, 3 p.m. ET
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AMCA insite “Pop-up” Webinar: Density Calculations: Calculating Density for Use in Fan Systems
July 14, 1 p.m. ET
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AMCA insite “Pop-up” Webinar: 2019 California Building Code (Life Safety Damper Requirements)
July 29, 3 p.m. ET
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2020 AMCA Annual Meeting
TBA
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AMCA Issues HVAC Challenge, Rallies Support for COVID-19 Relief

AMCA staff recently collaborated with AMCA member company Pottorff to develop a viral Internet activity, the HVAC Challenge, that to date has generated more than $6,000 in pledges for Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to aid the organization’s response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Launched May 14 and continuing through May 31, the HVAC Challenge involves members of the HVAC community posting on social media a selfie or group picture of them and/or their colleagues wearing red and including in the post their organization’s name and the hashtags #AMCACares, #HVACChallenge, and #MSF. For each social interaction (post, like, comment, share, etc.), AMCA is donating $1—up to $2,000—to MSF.

The seed for the HVAC Challenge was planted April 17, when Bailey Cockrum, value-stream manager, louvers, Pottorff, wrote to AMCA Executive Director Mark Stevens to ask if AMCA would be interested in supporting an initiative to help those in need.

A group of employees from Super Vac participates in the HVAC Challenge May 14.

“With the whole world in such a crisis, I wanted to do something that would impact those who need it most,” Bailey explained. “To me, it’s important to give back to our local or global community any way we can, and what better time to help out than the present? … I really wanted the campaign to be more than just Pottorff and thought AMCA could help be the ambassador to other companies within the HVAC market.”

Mark conferred with AMCA Director of Finance Paul Fajnor and AMCA Director of Marketing, Membership, and Education Robb Clawson.

“We really liked the idea of our industry coming together in some way to support efforts toward treating COVID-19 patients or supporting those who work with COVID-19 patients,” Mark said.

Employees at Pottorff’s plant in Fort Worth, Texas, on the day of the HVAC Challenge kickoff. The back of their shirts reads “We are all in this together.”

Robb wanted a campaign that would be “easy to do, easy to track, and quickly done.”

“I suggested we do an online viral campaign a la the Ice Bucket Challenge, wherein we challenge the industry to do something and not only contribute money toward the activity, but try to get members and others within the industry to pledge as well,” Robb said. “Pledge to whom was the question. We wanted something global. … I looked up Doctors Without Borders and saw they were doing quite a bit for COVID-19. It seemed like a natural fit.”

Robb then assembled a team that included AMCA Manager of Industry Content Scott Arnold, AMCA Meeting Manager Janet Blanchfield, AMCA Education Manager Lisa Cherney, and AMCA Manager, Member Relations Courtney Stone to discuss the idea with Bailey and Pottorff Marketing Manager Robin Capps.

“We kicked around the logistics of what to wear, how to communicate, and what to call it,” Robb said of the campaign. “We then took the working ideas to the Marketing Committee to get the members’ thoughts and buy-in. All of this was basically done within a week.”

Said Robin: “I was overwhelmed by how quickly this challenge came to fruition. It would not have happened without everyone pulling together.”

“It couldn’t have gone smoother,” Bailey added.

Pottorff has done much to bring attention to the campaign.

“We donated $2,500 as an organization, and several people within the organization donated to the fund as well,” Bailey said. “We also created T-shirts and handed them out to every employee of Pottorff at both our Texas and California plants and took a large group shot on the day of the campaign. The entire leadership team within Pottorff was very supportive of the campaign and jumped on board immediately to help out any way we could.”

In addition to Pottorff, Acme Engineering & Manufacturing, ebm-papst, Howden, JB Warranties, Metropolitan Air Technology, New York Blower, and Super Vac have been particularly active in posting photos, Robb said.

“The general viral component has been pretty good: more than 1,200 social interactions to date,” Robb said.

Bailey Cockrum’s HVAC Challenge selfie.

Robb Clawson’s HVAC Challenge selfie.

Perhaps more importantly, the HVAC Challenge helped to introduce the new AMCA Cares brand.

“The brand can and will be used when the need arises,” Robb said. “I’d like to see it used whenever there is a natural disaster or the like as a way of rallying members and the industry to step up. It can be the flag under which we all gather and focus our efforts. … I think it can become a global task force that meets fairly regularly—not so much to look for causes, but to be prepared for when they do arise so we can once again react quickly, smoothly, and effectively.”

Whether or not you have accepted the HVAC Challenge, Bailey had this to say:

“It’s important for all of us to remember those around us and help out where we can. If donating money is not an option, lend a helping hand to those in need or go out of your way to make their day brighter. At the end of the day, we are all in this together, and it’s vital we band together.”

For more on the HVAC Challenge and AMCA Cares, go to www.amca.org/cares.

AMCA Shatters Record for ASHRAE Supplier Webinars

With 2,734 registrants, AMCA’s “New Fan Efficiency Requirements in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2019” set a new record for ASHRAE supplier webinars May 20.

Presented by AMCA Senior Director, Global Affairs Michael Ivanovich, AMCA Principal Engineer Tim Mathson, and IMEG Corp. Managing Principal Jeff Boldt, PE, FASHRAE, the webinar covered the replacement of fan efficiency grade with fan energy index (FEI) and other changes in the fan-efficiency section of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2019, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings; how FEI can be applied in the sizing and selection of fans for constant-speed and variable-air-volume systems; and how to find FEI ratings from manufacturers.

Jeff Boldt, PE, FASHRAE	Michael Ivanovich	Tim Mathson

Of the record number of registrants, 1,448—nearly 53 percent, above the industry average of 46 percent—attended the live event. The attendees hailed from 55 countries and submitted 81 content-related questions.

“AMCA webinars tend to be very well-attended, especially during this time, with so many professionals working from home,” AMCA Education Manager Lisa Cherney said. “… Working with ASHRAE on this program, however, helped us reach a larger global audience than we would have reached independently.”

Sponsored by Greenheck, Loren Cook Co., Mars Air Systems, and Ventilation & Fan Consulting Service International, the webinar was free to attend and worth one professional-development hour through Registered Continuing Education Program.

To view a recording of “New Fan Efficiency Requirements in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2019” and to download the presentation slides, go to www.amca.org/webinar.

2019 Edition of AMCA inmotion to Receive American Business Award

Credit: cgdeaw/Bigstock | American Business Awards

The 2019 edition of AMCA inmotion magazine is the winner of a Bronze Stevie Award as part of the 18th Annual American Business Awards program.

Open to all organizations operating in the United States, the Stevie Awards—taken from the name Stephen, which is derived from the Greek word for “crowned”—are billed as “the world’s premier business awards … created in 2002 to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals.” The 2019 edition of AMCA inmotion is being recognized in the Other Publication - Association or Non-Profit category.

Edited by AMCA Manager of Industry Content Scott Arnold and art-directed by Chicago-based freelance designer, illustrator, and photographer Bonnie James, the 2019 edition of AMCA inmotion includes contributions from:

• Ronald Wroblewski, PE, Productive Energy Solutions LLC; Jeff Boldt, PE, HBDP, LEED AP, FASHRAE, FPE, IMEG Corp.; and Michael Ivanovich, AMCA, on the article “Applying Fan Energy Index in Variable-Air-Volume Systems.”
• The AMCA Fire and Smoke Damper Subcommittee on the article “Remote Periodic Testing of Life-Safety Dampers.”
• David Johnson of the AMCA Air Curtain Engineering Committee, with contributions from Frank R. Cuaderno and Brian Jones, also of the AMCA Air Curtain Engineering Committee, on the article “Air Curtains: A Proven Energy-Saving Alternative.”
• Dan Int-Hout and Gus Faris of the AMCA High Performance Air Systems Committee on the article “Air-Distribution Design for Comfort in High-Performance Air Systems” and the accompanying sidebar “High-Performance Air Systems vs. Other System Types,” respectively.
• James K. Smardo and Doug Petty of the AMCA Louver Marketing Task Force and Scott Arnold on the article “Improving Building Resilience With Severe-Duty Louvers.”
• Saeed Al Abbar of the Emirates Green Building Council on the AMCA Middle East Update “Green Building Takes Root in the Desert.”
• Francesco Gattiglio of European AMCA on the AMCA Europe Update “HVAC in the EU Post-Parliamentary Election 2019.”
• Hong Wang of China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House on the AMCA Asia Update “According to Plan: Innovation-Driven Development in China.”

Among the judge’s comments were:

• “Good effort to convert technical text into easy reading.”
• “On first glance, the product looks very wordy, but considering the audience, the technical details seem entirely appropriate. Good job!”
• “Gets information points across with appropriate graphics.”
• “Nicely done for the ‘2019 Edition of AMCA inmotion Magazine.’ Editorial is on target with good use of subheads that focus on the important aspects of the article. Additionally, the use of technical schematics to support the editorial content is great. Nice use of photos and graphics and white space.”
• “Well produced publication for the HVAC market.”

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Stevie Awards ceremony will be held virtually this year, on Aug. 5.

As announced in January, the 2019 edition of AMCA inmotion also is one of three finalists for the PRNEWS CSR & Nonprofit Award for Annual Publication or Brochure. The awards luncheon, which was to be held March 26 in Washington, D.C., was rescheduled for Oct. 15 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Work on the 2020 edition of AMCA inmotion, which will be published in October, is under way. For more information, contact Scott Arnold at [email protected] or +1 847-704-6335.

AMCA Seeking Volunteers to Revise Fan-Sound-Testing Standard 320

AMCA is seeking volunteers to serve on a new technical committee responsible for revising ANSI/AMCA Standard 320, Laboratory Methods of Sound Testing of Fans Using Sound Intensity.

Applicable to fans of all types and sizes, ANSI/AMCA Standard 320 establishes a method of determining octave-band sound power using sound-intensity measurements on surfaces enclosing sound sources. It is limited to the determination of airborne sound emission for specified setups.

To volunteer, click here and complete and submit the form by the close of business on June 13. For more information, contact AMCA Project Manager/Technical Editor Shruti Kohli-Bhargava at [email protected].

Visit the AMCA Newsletter library for past issues.