Mr. Ernie MacFerran, the District’s Mechanical Engineer, is the recipient of the Association of Energy Engineers "2009 Region II Energy Engineer of the Year" award. The award recognizes a significant contribution to energy engineering in a region encompassing eleven southeastern states and the District of Columbia.

Mr. MacFerran was cited for his leadership in obtaining a significant revision to the Florida Building Code for the design of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Using data from a study conducted at his urging, Mr. MacFerran successfully obtained adoption by the Florida Building Commission of a building code revision that safely allows for smaller air conditioning equipment and reduced cooling demand in educational facilities. The changes made possible by the code revision can potentially save Florida taxpayers approximately $4 million per year in energy costs, $3 million per year in air conditioning maintenance costs, and $35 million per year in construction costs.