The “energy problem” is not a single problem but is an interconnected web of problems that have significant impact on the global environment and on the global economy. It actually can be evaluated as a set of disconnects between societal needs and the current energy infrastructure for meeting those needs. Currently proposed solutions to the perceived energy problems of today’s global community too often focus on specific technologies and address only a small portion of the overall problem. The tendency to “silo-ize” these issues tends to produce revolutionary solutions to minor problems and to foster neglect of larger issues. The approach described in this presentation attempts to deconstruct the “energy problem” into component parts to facilitate evaluation of proposed solutions and technologies in the larger context.

SPEAKER BIO

Daniel Nall, PE, FAIA, FASHRAE

Mr. Nall is a professional engineer, a registered architect, an ASHRAE and an AIA Fellow, a LEED Fellow, an ASHRAE Certified Building Energy Modeling Professional, a certified High Performance Building Design Professional and a Certified Passive House Consultant. He is a member of the ASHRAE-AIA Liaison Committee, the Advanced Energy Design Guide Steering Committee, ASHRAE SPC240P, Evaluating Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Carbon Emissions in Building Design, Construction and Operation and is a member of the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code Commercial Consensus Committee. He was a member of the 2021-2022 ASHRAE Task Force for Building Decarbonization, the ASHRAE Vision 2030 Presidential Ad-Hoc Committee, was Chair of ASHRAE Standards Project Committee 227P, the Passive Building Design Standard, and was a member of the Commercial Buildings Working Group of the New York City Local Law 97 (Building Carbon Emissions Limitation) Advisory Group. He has been involved in building energy efficiency and HVAC engineering for 45 years. He has been a faculty member at the Schools of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Cornell University and Columbia University. He is the author of numerous papers in professional and technical journals. He has also presented at numerous USGBC, AIA and ASHRAE national conferences and conventions, and at international events in Spain, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, UAE, India, and Indonesia. His areas of expertise include underfloor air distribution, thermally active floors, thermal storage, central plant design, energy recovery and building electrification. Projects for which he has had a substantive engineering design contribution include 270 Park Avenue (the J.P. Morgan Chase Headquarters), the BlackRock Headquarters at 55 Hudson Yards, 200 West Street (Goldman Sachs Headquarters), the New York Times Headquarters, the Hearst Tower all in NYC, the William J. Clinton Presidential Center, the University of Virginia Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, the Delaware State Archives, the Alcoa Headquarters in Pittsburgh, the Banco Macro Headquarters in Buenos Aires and the U.S. Embassies in Sofia, Bulgaria, Cape Town. South Africa, and Kathmandu, Nepal.