Erich Binder, president of Calgary-based Erich Binder Consulting Ltd., has received the ASHRAE Award for Distinguished Service, presented at this week’s ASHRAE winter conference in Orlando, Florida. The honour is bestowed annually to an ASHRAE member for outstanding public service in his or her local community that also serves to promote the public image of engineering.

Binder is currently a member of ASHRAE’s board of directors and has been active in the development of the newly released Cold Climate Building Design Guide — also serving as conference program chair of the 2012 International Cold Climate HVAC Conference in Calgary. He is a graduate of the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT Polytechnic) and received its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2000.

ASHRAE President David Underwood presented this year’s award at the annual event recognizing members for outstanding achievements. These also included ASHRAE Technology Award winners, 17 members elevated to the ASHRAE Fellow standing, two newly named Honorary members and five student teams, who were winners of design competitions.

Photo: David Underwood and Erich Binder.