Brad C. Cochran has over 30 years of experience conducting wind tunnel, analytical, and Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modeling studies for laboratory, hospital, and data center ventilation designs. He holds a BS and MS in mechanical engineering, an MBA, and a PE license (CO). Currently, he leads CPP’s Data Center and Laboratory Fan Energy Optimization groups.
Brad’s clients include laboratory owners and operators throughout the U.S., Canada, and the UK, along with many of the world’s largest hyperscale and COLO data centers.
Over the past 20 years, Brad has helped develop new design techniques to minimize the energy requirements for laboratory exhaust stacks by implementing VAV technologies. He has successfully designed and employed VAV controls for over 300 laboratory exhaust systems throughout the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom. More recently, these techniques have been incorporated into the California Title 24 Energy Code as a requirement for systems greater than 10,000 cfm.
He’s currently focused on developing improved methods for evaluating thermal impacts due to the re-entrainment of hot emission sources at thermally sensitive air intakes. This information assists in optimizing the design and operation of cooling equipment to minimize energy consumption. While this effort’s primary focus is data centers, the techniques readily apply to other facilities with significant heating and cooling requirements.
Brad has authored and presented papers on laboratory exhaust design for ASHRAE, the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL), LabWize, R&D Magazine, the International Facility Management Assoc., the Campus Safety, Health, and Environmental Management Assoc., the Real Property Institute of Canada, and the Air & Waste Management Association. Brad is the primary author of “Laboratory Exhaust Stack Design,” Chapter 9 in the current ASHRAE laboratory design guide and author of the I2SL’s Best Practice Guide on Designing and Operating Sustainable Laboratory Exhaust Systems. He also contributed to developing the latest version of ANSI Standard Z9.5 – Laboratory Ventilation.
In 2011, Brad became one of the first recipients of I2SL’s prestigious GO BEYOND Award for an individual for his outstanding contributions to the field of efficiency and sustainability in lab design.
Brad is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a member of the international board of directors and Distinguished Speaker for I2SL. He is a former chair of ASHRAE’s Technical Committee 9.10 Laboratory Systems, and he currently sits on the ASHRAE Technical Activities Committee (TAC) as the Section 9 – Building Systems Section Head.
In his free time, he enjoys hiking in the Rocky Mountains, playing golf with his sons, and scuba diving with his wife in the Caribbean off the coast of Roatan, Honduras.
