David Grumman, engineer who focused on energy efficiency and air quality, dies

David Leroy Grumman Sr. founded an engineering firm that focused on energy efficiency and indoor air quality, and organized  an engineering society committee that set the first standard for building energy codes in the U.S.

Grumman also developed a new standard that included a proposed ban on smoking inside public buildings. Despite opposition from the tobacco industry, the standard eventually was incorporated into federal, state and local codes outlawing smoking indoors.

Grumman, 90, died of natural causes on Jan. 3 at his home in Evanston, said his daughter, former Tribune Editorial Board member Cornelia Grumman.

Born in New York City, Grumman grew up in Long Island. His father, Leroy “Roy” Grumman, co-founded Grumman Aircraft Engineering in 1929. The firm now is part of aerospace and defense giant Northrop Grumman.

David Grumman attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and received a degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University, where he also played varsity soccer, squash and lacrosse. After college, Grumman served for two years on a Navy minesweeper based out of Charleston, South Carolina.

Grumman started his career with his father-in-law’s Chicago architectural firm, Perkins & Will. He oversaw Perkins & Will’s engineering standards and its 50-person department of mechanical engineers. Along the way, he gained expertise in designing mechanical heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems for large commercial buildings.

In 1973, Grumman started Enercon, an Evanston firm that focused on energy conservation. Grumman’s belief was that if buildings’ mechanical systems were more efficiently designed, building owners and managers would benefit from lower operating costs.

“Growing up, I recall that he was interested in reducing energy usage, turning off lights, and saying there’s no need for using too much of this or too much of that,” his son Roy said. “Obviously this was sort of a deep thing in his mind.”

Grumman soon had plenty of work, and he hired Al Butkus, who graduated from the University of Illinois’ mechanical and industrial engineering school. The two continued expanding the firm, which was renamed Grumman/Butkus Associates. Today, Grumman/Butkus has four offices and more than 150 employees.

Grumman was something of a visionary when it came to energy conservation and clean energy. In 1974, he told a local conference that in the not-too-distant future, buildings could be heated, at least in part, by the sun — a prediction that clearly came true in the ensuing decades.

“Use of solar energy for heating commercial and industrial buildings is not as far off as most people think,” he said, according to a March 1974 Tribune article. “The technology needs some refinement, but it’s there. The only thing we need to do is start designing buildings to make use of solar energy. Systems for converting solar energy into heat should be installed now in new buildings. The day may come when we see legislation passed ensuring a property owner’s right to have access to the sun’s rays.”

In the early 1970s, Grumman assembled and chaired a volunteer committee for the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, or ASHRAE, an industry organization. At that time, energy was relatively cheap, and Grumman was one of the few industry leaders focused on energy conservation, according to Dan Doyle, the Illinois chairman of Grumman/Butkus Associates.

Grumman’s committee wrote standards that were incorporated into public building codes and set energy conservation standards in 1975 that have been continuously updated.

“It was quickly adopted as the basis for all building energy efficiency codes across the U.S. and later worldwide,” Doyle said. It “was the very first energy efficiency code for buildings anywhere. This standard has altered the course of new building design and major renovations ever since.”

Grumman chaired an ASHRAE committee that signed off on standards related to acceptable indoor air quality. It was the first to call for banning indoor smoking in public buildings. Despite tobacco industry resistance, the standard was adopted, and ultimately helped lead to legislation barring smoking in public buildings.

“Dave spearheaded the effort to successfully resolve all issues, the standards were updated and of course, people are no longer able to smoke in most buildings in the U.S.,” Doyle said. “This was a big deal and I don’t think he received nearly enough recognition for his efforts.”

Grumman later edited and was the primary author of the first ASHRAE Green Guide to Design, focused on concepts like sustainability and green-building design.

Grumman retired from his consulting firm in 1996.

Active in his town’s affairs, Grumman served on the Evanston Plan Commission, the Evanston Energy Commission and the Evanston Utilities Commission, as well as on the boards of WTTW-Ch. 11 and the Community Hospital of Evanston. He also served for a time on the board of Grumman Aircraft Engineering.

Grumman enjoyed spending time at the family’s summer cottage in Charlevoix, Michigan, playing squash and sailing a Butterfly sailboat. Always handy, he rebuilt his childhood Lionel train set, refurbished his wife’s childhood dollhouse for his own children and built a two-story outdoor playhouse, his family said.

Grumman’s first wife of 45 years, Blair, died in 2003. In addition to his daughter and son, he is survived by his second wife of 19 years, Mary Ann; another daughter, Eleanor; and six grandchildren.

A celebration of life will take place at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at First Presbyterian Church of Evanston, 1427 Chicago Ave., Evanston.

Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.

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