Welcome Message

Welcome to the Ottawa Valley Chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

Founded in 1894, ASHRAE is an international organization of 55,000 persons. Its sole objective is to advance through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, the arts and sciences of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world.

The Ottawa Valley Chapter was established in 1952, and supports roughly 500 local ASHRAE members, of which approximately 200 are Chapter members. Our membership is comprised of a diverse group of men and women from the various fields in the HVAC&R and construction industries; e.g. consulting engineers, contractors, developers, facility managers, federal, provincial & municipal government, manufacturers, researchers, sales organizations, students, university and college faculty.

Our Chapter meets the third Tuesday of the month from September to May (excluding December) and typically consists of a tour or technical session, followed by a social gathering starting at 5:30 pm, dinner at 6:30 pm and the featured presentation to round out the evening. The meetings are held at Restaurant International at Algonquin College Woodroffe Campus, with the exception of the September meeting, which is occasionally held at a different venue.

The cost of a Chapter Membership is $60.00 and $30.00 for students. Chapter membership gets you a copy of the Ottawa Valley Chapter Roster which contains the contact information of the roughly 500 local ASHRAE members, monthly electronic access to chapter newsletter and discounts on Chapter meetings, seminars and events.

I hope you enjoy our web site and look forward to seeing you at our chapter meetings.

Yours very truly,

Roderic Potter
2013-2014 OVC President

Presidential Message February 2014

My dad was always a hoot to be around. I can remember being up a ladder in the early 90's at his property east of Ottawa; we were manoeuvring roof trusses into place on his house extension, and I suddenly asked him what he thought about certain frolicking activities that I cannot mention here. His answer, as always in these situations, was "Everything in Moderation". Come to think of it my long-passed grandmother used to say something similar: "Everything is fine as long as it doesn't scare the horses" or something along those lines. Our January meeting was a fine affair and I was tasked with the role of Moderator. In this case I don't think my father was quite right because everything was not in Moderation, our wonderful guest panelists were the real stars. They performed admirably and I was impressed with their views, intelligently conveyed, to an enthusiastic audience. That audience numbered about 75 and in the end we actually had to turn people away such was the popularity of the event. Our own Sandy Taylor and Adam Graham did a great job of making the non-standard arrangements and I commend both of them.

Just prior to January's meeting I attended the ASHRAE Winter Meeting in New York City, representing us on the Electronic Communications Committee. This was my first experience of one of these sessions and I was impressed with the enthusiasm shown by my counterparts, covering web-standards, social media, The ASHRAE Exchange, and related topics. I would encourage anyone interested in these fields to get involved - there are many committees to choose from and talent is wasted if it sits idly by.

February's program topic is "Commissioning Tips Tricks & Techniques" with presenter David Underwood. This guy is almost a legend in ASHRAE circles and universally respected as a guru in his field, and just a plain all-round good guy, not to mention that he is currently Society Treasurer. At Society Meetings and CRC's he tries hard to visit every Committee and he is always welcomed with a smile. I believe it will actually be his birthday on February 18th so be ready to make a fuss of him. I will be in California for that week and President-Elect Steve Moons will be a fine master of ceremonies. Try to make it to the meeting, it will be most entertaining I am sure.

Cheers from the desk of Rodders CAS

Roderic Potter
2013-2014 OVC President
rod@rodders.com