Logo of the ASHRAE South Africa Chapter

Our History: 2021 - 2022

Call for nominations

Submit your nominations!

Every year we ask our valued members for their participation in our Committees and Board of Governors. In order to keep ASHRAE South Africa moving forward, we are calling for our brightest and most enthusiastic members that are willing to give back to a community that has given us all so much.

As a committee chair or member, you will be granted 1.0 CPD point for the year that you serve. You will also be able to claim additional points based on the amount of time committed to meetings and events related to ASHRAE.

This is a fantastic opportunity for you to keep a finger on the pulse of the industry and build strong business relationships with some of the top minds in South African engineering, as well as opportunities to travel and experience events around the world.

There has never been a better opportunity to revamp or kick-start your career!

Click here for the nominations!

Top

Newsleter March 2022

March 2022

Preparation and readiness

Welcome to our first newsletter for the year 2022. This is coming out at the end of the first three months of the year and as such, we would like to encourage you with the theme of preparation and readiness as we move on in 2022.

The word preparation can be interpreted to mean: “the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or action (especially military action)”. The keyword here is: been made ready or prepared for use or action.

Portrait photograph of Olu Soluade
Chapter President

In order for us as a society or as individuals to progress and go forward, we need to prepare, be ready and then take action.

An unprepared man or woman is a dangerous person. Likewise, a group of people or concern that is not prepared or ready will not function at their full potential. As we march on in 2022, I challenge you to relook at your preparation and readiness and do something about it.

Below is a parallel of what we can do to be prepared and make a difference. This account is about a man called Zaccheus that decided that he wanted to see the Lord.

This singular decision made the difference in his life. Although he had limitations that he was short, he was not perturbed.

So, as we continue this year, make up your mind and follow these steps:

  1. Make a decision to see
  2. Forget about your limitations
  3. No mediocrity: Don’t settle for less
  4. Decide to stand out and go the extra miles
  5. Do the impossible
  6. Serve

Also, big thanks to the University of Pretoria and UJ studentbranches and the branch advisors.

Keep on going on. Be prepared and be Ready!

Top

Newsleter December 2021

December 2021

Thanksgiving and appreciation

Welcome to the latest edition of our newsletter. This edition is very timely indeed as we come towards the end of 2021 in a few weeks.

In this write-up, I will be focusing on thanksgiving and appreciation. Over some time now, I have come to notice a gradual culture of not giving thanks. It seems to me that we are becoming a thankless and non-appreciative people.

Portrait photograph of Olu Soluade
Chapter President
Award to ASHRAE SA Chapter, 2021
Award to ASHRAE SA Chapter, 2021
Award to ASHRAE SA Chapter, 2021
Award to ASHRAE SA Chapter, 2021

We tend to act that it is our right to receive and get all we desire and not concern about saying thanks.

As we get towards the end of 2021, I will like to challenge you to work against the narrative and begin to appreciate and give thanks when things are done for you or on your behalf. In fact, one of the reasons we might not give thanks might be because we’ve not paused to think deeply about things.

There is a song that goes like this: "count your blessings name them one by one, count your blessings see what God has done, count your blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done".

I urge you to start thinking about this year, 2021, count all the blessings you’ve experienced and begin to give thanks. Identify the people that God had brought around you to make a difference and begin to call them to say thanks.

As the President of ASHRAE SA, I will start by giving thanks to all the volunteers, committee chairs, the BOG members and for all the ASHRAE members in South Africa that contributed to the success of our chapter in the last two years.

Mention will be made about the formulation of the ASHRAE UJ student branch, the branch advisor as well as the leadership of the branch.

Also, big thanks for the University of Pretoria student branch and the branch advisor.

This is wishing you all a blessed and wonderful Christmas and a blessed 2022 in Jesus name. Amen.

At the RAL CRC concluded in Istanbul in October 2021, ASHRAE SA was recognised and awarded with various certificate for active participation and contribution to the Society. The certificates are shown in this newsletter.

ASHRAE SA signed an MOU with GBCSA & SAIRAC for the furtherance of our relationships and the development of our sector. The full MOUs are available on request.

Our members

Photograph of Mr Pieter Naude
ASHRAE SA member Mr Pieter Naude

Our sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of one of our members, Mr Pieter Naude, who passed away earlier this year.

Photograph of Mr Johan Bekker
ASHRAE SA member Mr Johan Bekker

Congratulations to ASHRAE member Johan Bekker for his 5-year ASHRAE membership.

Current projects

Governments of the Free State of Bavaria and Western Cape Collaborate on NatRefs; ASHRAE-SA Participates in Pilot Project.

The Changing Landscape of Refrigeration

As South Africa joins one hundred and twenty-eight other countries in implementing the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol 1 , the landscape of refrigeration continues to change.

In South Africa, the ‘baseline’ Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) consumption is currently being determined so that, as early as 2024, this consumption will be ‘frozen’ and incrementally reduced to 20% of that baseline value by 2045 2. Read the entire article here.

Green Building Convention 2021

The 14th Green Building Convention took place 2-4 November at the Cape Town International Convention Centre 2 in Cape Town and Virtually.

Green Building Convention 2021
Green Building Convention 2021
Green Building Convention 2021
Green Building Convention 2021
Green Building Convention 2021
Green Building Convention 2021
Green Building Convention 2021
Green Building Convention 2021

The pictures highlight the event and delegates that attended. Delegates thoroughly enjoyed the virtual workshops on green student housing sponsored by the IFC - International Finance Corporation; ESG strategy for property companies sponsored by Growthpoint Properties; and breaking ground on innovation hosted by the GBCSA Academy.

During the opening plenary, there was a full house with a stellar line-up of speakers, including Pro Adventurer, Inspirational Speaker, Author and Leadership Consultant Peter Van Kets; Mbuyiswa Makhubela from Rand Water, Shobana Singh from Vodacom, Steve Brookes from Balwin properties and Marc Sherratt from MSSA.

ASHRAE was well represented by Francois Retief, Sow & Reap, and Jan-Paul Spangenberg, Delta Carbon. They spoke about the C40 Buildings program, getting to NetZero guidelines and Energy Performance Certificates (EPC’s) in South Africa.

The calibre of speakers across the stages, breakaway sessions and the Standard Bank Green Innovation Stage was phenomenal - tackling the latest trends and insights that impact the built environment and our collective drive to build spaces where people and planet thrive.

Top

RAL CRC Istanbul

Award to ASHRAE SA Chapter, 2021
Award to ASHRAE SA Chapter, 2021
Award to ASHRAE SA Chapter, 2021
Award to ASHRAE SA Chapter, 2021
ASHRAE SA won several awards at the RAL conference in Istanbul.

Top

Officers

Board of Governors


Olu is a Professional Engineer and Professional Construction Project Manager with 30 years experience.

He started AOS Consulting Engineers in 2008. In 2009, the company won an award as the Young Company of the Year from CESA/Glenrand MIB and various international awards.

He is currently serving as the GAC Chair, Chapter Delegate and the President for ASHRAE South Africa Chapter.


Richard is currently the business owner of HFW Consulting (Pty) Ltd and actively consults throughout South Africa and Africa on mechanical, fire, wet services and sustainability. He is a Faculty member for the Green Building Council of South Africa and serves as an assessor for them as well.

He currently serves as the Chapter Treasurer and Chapter President Elect on the Board of Governors and is the Subregion 1 Chair for Region At Large.

Portrait photograph of Garid Glenn

Currently working for Baltimore Aircoil Company as Head of Marketing, Garid has a passion for sustainability which reflects in his Masters topic on Water vs Energy saving in HVAC installations.

Garid is 1 of 5 current BOG members as well as the membership promotions and nominations chair for ASHRAE South Africa.

Portrait photograph of Mischa Tessendorf

Mischa Tessendorf is a mechanical engineer (B.Tech. Mech. Eng.), working in the HVAC&R industry, focusing on energy-efficient solutions for commercial and industrial applications. She also has a passion for sustainability. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria, and did her dissertation on Assessing Sustainability Strategy Implications in an organization. With over eight years in the engineering manufacturing industry, she loves any opportunity to be challenged, especially where lots of innovation is required, and always thinks beyond the conventional.

Mischa serves on the Board of Governors as the Chapter Secretary, is the chair of the Diversity Committee and also co-chairs the Sustainability Committee.

Portrait photograph of Dick Morkel

Dick is a member of the ASHRAESA Board of Governors with a focus on communications. Most of his life he has worked in a managerial position in a large multinational consulting practice and he now has his own small practice. Whilst he takes on projects of all types, data centres and sustainable building designs are his passions.

Dick serves on the Board of Governors as the Chapter Alternate, as Government Affairs co-chair and as Communications co-chair.

Top

Organogram

Organogram ASHRAE SA 2021 to 2022...

Top

Introducing Building EQ

(Information courtesy of Trent Hunt, Member Utah Chapter of ASHRAE, Building EQ Business Development Subcommittee Chair)

The Building EQ pages on the ASHRAE website have many resources available including several 10 to 15 minute podcasts that introduce both the In Operation and As Designed assessments. There is also a 30 minute training video on how to use the Building EQ Portal. Two Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) documents provide guidance to assist your chapter’s outreach efforts in supporting university-based and grassroots-driven building energy assessments. These resources provide you with opportunities to comply with PAOE Presidential Initiatives such as building operations, energy efficiency, and sustainability.

The most recent Tech Hour featuring ASHRAE Distinguished Lecturer Doug Cochrane is focused on Building EQ and is now available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKE6EX7tDx4. This Tech Hour provides a basic understanding of Building EQ and would be a helpful resource for building owners who want to understand how their buildings contribute to their energy resilience and independence plan.

The January issue of the ASHRAE Journal includes a case study article, Building EQ Empowers Schools, Teaches Students, on the use of the Portal in universities and public schools. A short two-page summary of this case study is also being added to the Building EQ page.

Top

GAC: Consultation for the Draught Professional Guideline Fees

Per notification from ECSA, the Engineering Council of South Africa has finalised the draught of the Guideline Scope of Services and Tariff of Fees and is consulting stakeholders on this document. Stakeholders are requested to make comments and inputs on or before 31 January 2022.

To make comments stakeholders are requested to use the comments sheet or by email to and .

Top

ECSA IDoEW

Media statement emanating from the voluntary associations consultation on the Identification of Engineering Work (IDoEW) that took place on Thursday, 26 August 2021.

Top

MOU with GBCSA

A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between ASHRAE SA Chapter and the Green Building Council of SA (GBCSA) was signed in 2021.

Top

ECSA Regulations Gazetted

The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) has gazetted the following three strategic regulations:

GAC: Consultation for the Draught Professional Guideline Fees

Per notification from ECSA, the Engineering Council of South Africa has finalised the draught of the Guideline Scope of Services and Tariff of Fees and is consulting stakeholders on this document. Stakeholders are requested to make comments and inputs on or before 31 January 2022.

To make comments stakeholders are requested to use the comments sheet or by email to and .

Top

AGM 2021

Top

CESA Women's Month

Flyer about CASA women's Month 2021

Chapter President's Message

Portrait photograph of Olu Soluade
Chapter President

10 May 2021

THE PRESIDENTIAL THEME: A CALL TO SERVICE

INTRODUCTION

It is my pleasure to be re-elected as the incoming president for the ASHRAE SA Society year 2021/2022. During the 2020/2021 society year, my presidential theme was: TEAM: together each achieving more. During the society year, it was apparent that the success of any group of people is completely dependent on working together as a team and speaking the same language i.e.,

  1. Having a united outlook
  2. All hands-on deck

We found out quite quickly during the past year that working together is key and we will need all hands on the plough to achieve our goals. Following the steps of the Society, a five-year strategic plan was developed for the SA Chapter with the following foci:
Goal 1: Start up at least one student chapter branch every year
Goal 2: Sponsor one graduate student into internship every year with the aim of developing into YEA leadership
Goal 3: Connect all student branches and advisor into a formidable operational team
Goal 4: Get all BOG members active and BOG members looking after committee
Goal 5: Next generation leadership
We will also conform to the strategic goals as declared by ASHRAE.
The above now leads to our Society year 2021/2022 theme: A Call to Service.

WHAT IS SERVICE?

The two definitions of service that we want to consider are as follows:

  • The action of helping or doing work for someone.
  • A system supplying a public need such as transport, communications, or utilities such as electricity and water.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVICE?

  • Availability: time allocation and readiness to make a difference
  • Willingness: with joyous and joyful heart. Not coerced or forced but willingness to commit and serve
  • Sacrifice: going out of your way and will cost you something
  • Visionary: where there is no vision, the people perish. Must be visionary to make a difference

THE HALLMARK OF SERVICE

  • Servant leadership: showing how it is done and not bossing people around.
  • Leadership by example.
  • Not eyeservice: Colossians 3: 17: and whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.
  • Integrity.
  • Excellence.

THE ADVANTAGES OF SERVICE

  • Satisfaction
  • Goodwill
  • Upliftment
  • Joint success
  • Progress
  • Super abundant achievement

THE EFFECT AND OUTCOME OF AN ACCEPTABLE SERVICE

  • Achievement of the vision and goals
  • Motivated and empowered team
  • Successful and growing team
  • Encouragement, dedication and commitment
  • Thankful heart and people with a heart of gratitude

MY AND YOUR PART

The message is clear, how do we make a difference in the Society, we need you to be:
  • Available
  • Willing
  • Servant leadership
  • Visionary
  • Sacrifice time, ideas and run with the vision

CONCLUSION

In a volunteering organisation, the commitment and sacrificial giving of time and ideas by all members is critical to the successful operation of the team/society. We call you to serve with dignity, integrity and discipline. Be available to make a difference and leave a long-lasting legacy in our industry. Yes, we can serve and make a success of the society. Thank you, and welcome to the 2021/22 Society year for ASHRAE SA. We value your time and inputs.

President ASHRAE SA Chapter 2021/2022

Top

Region-At-Large Theme

Flyer about the ASHRAE RAL theme 2021-2022: HEAL

Top

ASHRAE Society Theme

Portrait photograph of Mick Schwedler
ASHRAE President 2021-2022 Mick Schwedler, P.E., Fellow ASHRAE, LEED AP.
The theme of the Presidential Address for 2021-22 [video] is Personal Growth. Global Impact. Feeding Our Roots. This society theme was shared during Mick's inaugural address at the 2021 ASHRAE Virtual Annual Conference on 30 June 2021.
Top

AGM 2021

Top

Top

Sponsors 2021-2022

ASHRAE South Africa Chapter acknowledges the sponsorship of:
Logo of the company AOS Engineers
Silver Sponsor
Logo of the company HFW Consulting
Bronze Sponsor
Logo of the company Leading Edge Projects
Ad-hoc Sponsor

Read about the sponsorship options available to your company for the society year 2021 to 2022.
Top