Last January's AHR Expo in Chicago gave us a hint at the show's direction in this sustanability-focused world. The upcoming 2010 Expo appears to be expanding its information and education options for attendees interested in energy efficiency.

Building Automation & Control Showcase

This area of the Expo floor is dedicated to energy and building management systems, controls and networking solutions. This group of exhibitors is located on the west side of the North Hall. Here you'll find ABB, Cisco, Echelon, KMC -- almost 50 exhibits in total.

Software Center

Design programs, estimating and business management software vendors are clustered here, also on the west side of the North Hall. Maxwell, Wrightsoft, and three dozen other exhibits are in this showcase.

Public sessions

AHR has not yet posted the schedule of education sessions, but we expect to see much more in the way of energy efficiency presentations.

ASHRAE is offering two sessions to assist contractors in construction management and high-performance building. The sessions require no conference badge or fee for AHR Expo attendees. The "Construction Management" session will be held Monday, January 25. It will address two contractor-related topics to help improve the quality of their work: whether systems commissioning will improve the contractors’ ability to perform well and preconstruction management basics for mechanical engineers and contractors on design-build/design-assist projects. The "Cost/Benefit Analysis Methodology and Tools Needed by Owners" session will be Tuesday, January 26. That session will provide an understanding of high-performance building cost-benefit analysis with a focus on the LEED rating system. Several topics are addressed, including cost/benefit project setup, fiscal metrics, constraints and length of analysis.

The 2010 AHR Expo takes place January 25-27 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. The ASHRAE 2010 Winter Conference takes place January 23-27 at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel in Orlando.