ASHRAE President Stresses Teamwork in Inaugural Speech

ASHRAE, the professional society that sets standards for heating, cooling, and building efficiency, has a new president. Sarah E. Maston took over during the group's annual conference in Austin, Texas. She's the director of commissioning and energy services at Colliers Project Leaders, where she oversees efficiency checks for municipal, school, healthcare, and lab buildings across New England.

Maston's theme for her term is "Changing the Game: Retrofitting for Resilience," aimed at getting the building industry to work together on improving how existing buildings perform as climate and infrastructure pressures grow. She named three areas of focus: building codes and their role in making structures more resilient, getting different professionals to coordinate better on improving how buildings operate, and using more engaging teaching methods to draw new people into the field.

This is organizational and leadership news within ASHRAE, not a program change or new incentive. There's no new rebate, deadline, or product announcement here that affects what a homeowner does next. The relevance is longer-term: ASHRAE's standards and guidance influence how buildings, including homes, get evaluated and retrofitted for efficiency, so shifts in its priorities can eventually shape codes and practices that touch your house. But nothing here requires or suggests any action right now.