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For Release:
August 22, 2003 Contact: Jodi Dunlop
Public Relations
404-636-8400, ext.1140
jdunlop@ashrae.org
Improve Energy, Cut Consumer Costs, Protect the Environment
ATLANTA – As 50 million people across the United States and Canada learned last week, life without electric energy means hot homes, warm beer and no television.
While the cause of the blackout continues to be investigated, the events that left people without electricity, air conditioning and refrigeration highlight the need to save energy.
Air conditioners alone account for 10 percent of the energy used in commercial buildings in the United States.
“Improving energy efficiency will benefit consumers in two ways – by reducing cost and by lessening the impact on the environment,” Lawrence Spielvogel, an energy specialist with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioners (ASHRAE), said. “From the energy crisis of the 1970s to the rolling blackouts in 2001, we’ve seen that lack of energy efficiency has the potential to cripple the world.”
For more than 30 years ASHRAE energy standards have guided the efficient use of energy resources in buildings. These standards have enabled engineers to design and operate buildings to achieve substantial energy savings – without sacrificing comfort, indoor air quality or production
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of 55,000 members. It is the world's foremost technical society in the fields of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration. Through its meetings, research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, the Society helps keep indoor environments.
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