Mr. Fly has 40+ years of experience as a Researcher, Consulting Engineer, Contractor, and Manufacturer in the HVAC Industry. He was formerly the Executive Director of Research and Development at AAON, Inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma prior to his retirement after almost 18 years of engineering leadership at AAON. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics from Missouri State University and is a Licensed Professional Engineer.
In ASHRAE, Mr. Fly holds the grade of Fellow and is a Life Member having been honored with both the Distinguished Service and Exceptional Service Awards. He has been and is currently active on numerous Technical Committees, Standing Committees and Councils, and is currently serving as a Trustee on the ASHRAE Foundation Board and as a Member-at-Large on Technology Council. He served as a Director at Large on the ASHRAE Board of Directors from 2014-2017.
Mr. Fly has also been active in the HVAC Industry Trade Association, AHRI, where he served on their Board of Directors from 2012-2016 and as Section Chair for Unitary Large Equipment, and Air-to-Air Energy Recovery. He has also participated in the Technical on Sound, Unitary Sector Leadership Council and is currently serving on the Systems Steering Committee and Applied Sector Leadership Council.
Inside the Box – Fan Characteristics and Applications
Fans provide the primary transport method for moving thermal energy into occupied spaces in most all cases. Designers need to understand the characteristics and limitations of fans, even if imbedded in into packaged or self-contained equipment to apply the equipment properly. This presentation will cover:
• Different fan types and their characteristics
• Fan curves and fan laws, how to use and apply them
• Fan stall and unstable regions of operation
• How to select the best fan for the flow, static and acoustical performance desired
What’s Shakin’ – Vibration Fundamentals and Human Perception
Vibration science is discussed with a view toward human comfort in this presentation. Isolation theory including isolation efficiency, damping, and harmonics are explored as well as the distinction between controlling vibration for equipment life vs human comfort. This presentation will cover:
• Understand how vibration isolators work regarding isolation efficiency and damping.
• Learn how deflection and isolator frequency response are related.
• Discover how humans respond to building vibration.
• Look at the criteria used for both human comfort and long machinery life
What’s Loud - Understanding the Psychoacoustics of Hearing and Perception
This interactive program look in depth into how we hear broadband, time variant and tonal noise. Concepts such as hearing critical band, tonal prominence ratio, and loudness are discussed and presented in audio demonstrations. This presentation will cover:
• Understand What Changes In Levels Are Perceptible
• Learn The Role That Tones Play In Perception And Annoyance
• Understand Critical Bands And How They Effect Perception
• Discover Your Personal Threshold Of Hearing
• Discover Your Frequency Range Of Hearing
Steady On the Throttle - Part Load Compressor Technologies and Applications
There are many advantage of variable capacity compressors in both energy reduction and precision space temperature and humidity control. Several technologies are available to achieve variable compressor capacity modulation. It is not surprising that ultimate in efficiency, true variable speed compressors, come with the most complex and least robust system of control and operation. Due to the parasitic energy use of variable speed drive devices, they are also less efficient at full speed by 3-5%. Both the digital and two step scroll compressor offer improved efficiency with reduced complexity in the areas of control and less long term equipment life issues regarding oil circulation or resonance issues in the equipment or building structure. This presentation will discuss how these technologies work as well as the efficiency and space control that can be achieved with each by:
1. Discovering why variable capacity control is desirable, necessary and critical to certain applications
2. Understanding the different types of compressors that are most commonly used in unitary HVAC equipment
3. Review the different methods of capacity modulation and the pros and cons of each
4. Analyze the different tradeoffs on each modulation type in terms of cost, precision, efficiency, control complexity, and equipment life
Acoustics Basics for HVAC &R Designers
Part of designing a healthy and sustainable built environment for all, involves creating an acoustical environment that is both comfortable and productive. This presentation will expose participants to:
• The fundamentals of acoustics
• How sound is measured and reported
• Levels that are sound spectrums appropriate for different environments and activities
• Different sound measurements and ratings,
• How to apply different types of criteria rating systems to achieve acceptable noise for the people living and working in the space
Participants will get the opportunity to judge for themselves both the loudness and sound quality of different criteria systems available.
Understanding Air-Conditioning and Heat Pump Ratings
HVAC units are rated and certified to defined metrics and in many cases, must meet government regulated minimal standards before they can be offered for sales. Designers of systems using his equipment need to understand what these ratings mean in order to apply the best type unit in the system for a given application. This presentation will cover:
• Different rating metrics for full load and part load performance
• What environmental conditions are these units tested at to develop the ratings
• What the rating cover and don’t cover
• How these rating effect the energy consumption of systems and overall building performance
The Future of HVAC Energy Efficiency - Pushing the Boundaries of HVAC Efficiency - Current Technology, What’s Next
Regulations and their associated compliance metrics are developed to drive the desired results. However, as it is only practical to simplify these metrics, they often result in manifesting unintended consequences. As we raise the bar on energy efficiency, in order to lower building energy and carbon consumption, the means of measurement and regulation must necessarily become more complex. As the end goal is to reduce the Whole Building Energy and Carbon Use, more sophisticated modeling of equipment energy consumption will be required. This also necessarily include the modeling both equipment and building sequence of controls and operations. Future metrics will have to rely more on whole building energy modeling combined with continuous commissioning to ensure continued efficient building operation. This requires the future development of performance maps all types of equipment as well as better incorporation of control and operation sequences into modeling software. This presentation will discuss where we are and what needs to be done to change how we evaluate system efficiency by:
• Understanding the difference between equipment and system efficacy
• Reviewing where we have been and what happened when we reach “Max Tech” in equipment efficiency
• Evaluating where equipment is rated vs. where it operates
• Discovering what tools need to be developed to change how we evaluate building energy performance
When Fans Don’t Perform – Fan System Effects
In general fans are thoroughly tested and perform to the published data if applied when applied similar to the tested configuration. However, in application, this is not always the case if applied in a different configuration. This presentation will cover:
- How fans are tested and what configurations are used
- What are system effects and how do they effect fan performance
- What configurations are likely to cause significant system effects
- What can be done to mitigate these system effects
Failure is the Option - How failure, perseverance, and positive attitude lead to innovation and success
To invent, innovate and discover new concepts, processes or products we must push the boundaries of our knowledge and experience past where we are today. You cannot discover how far you can go without exceeding the limits and failing so that we know what the limits are. This presentation draws on the wisdom and experience of some the most innovative and successful figures currently and in history for wisdom on how to fail and win. This presentation will cover:
• Realize how failure leads to successful outcomes
• Know the difference between an acceptable and unacceptable failure
• Discover how to \"make your own luck\" through perseverance
• Understand how learning from others mistakes can make us more successful and allow us to learn from our own