3. Exploring HVAC&R’s New Connected Data Frontier

In this episode, Sheila Hayter, P.E., Presidential Member/Fellow ASHRAE, and Chuck Gulledge, P.E., HBDP, Presidential Member/Fellow ASHRAE, talk about the future of the HVAC industry and the built environment as they evolve with the help of Industry 4.0 technologies and ASHRAE's Vision 2030.

They dive into how buildings will be integrated and work as a community (2:58) and how data integration and optimization can help engineers make better decisions to monitor and adapt energy use (10:30). 

Then, they dig into how digital connections create data-driven practices for operations (7:50), including creating the ability to process and transform data to help engineers make decisions (8:25) and how buildings will be able to better respond to occupants’ needs in the moment (8:45). 

Sheila and Chuck also talk about Industry 4.0 technologies, such as digital twins (11:00), Lidar (18:03), mixed and virtual realities (18:50), generative design (25:25) and computational fluid dynamics (19:49). 

The duo also discusses how the new ASHRAE HQ is using Industry 4.0 technologies—including a digital twin (12:47)—while serving as a learning lab for the HVAC&R industry.