LAS VEGAS (May 13, 2019) – Ryan Calahan, principal at FEA Consulting Engineers, will join the non-profit Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE) in its efforts to “light up the world” in a humanitarian mission to Guatemala this summer. Calahan will work to integrate interior and exterior lighting and ventilation to rural homes that don’t have access to electricity.
Calahan, who currently serves on the ASHRAE of Southern Nevada board of governors, will travel to the outlying village of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, where people often live by candlelight. Lack of light normally means children are unable to complete their schoolwork because they often work in fields until sundown and have no other light source. The ASHRAE team will work to install solar home kits that provide LED lights, battery packs, electrical charging stations and ceiling fans to as many homes as possible.
“It’s easy to forget how imperative light can be to some areas of the world, especially when it is not as easily accessible as it is here in the U.S.,” Calahan said. “The solar home kits are great in that they offer little impact on the environment, are cost-effective and will most certainly help elevate the quality of life of those in the rural Guatemalan communities.”
Additionally, Calahan and his team at ASHRAE partnered with a local elementary school to continue its lighting initiative in a light-design competition. Students worked to create a light diffuser that can be placed on a light bulb and is attached to the home’s interior.
Calahan leads the mechanical and plumbing engineering efforts at FEA Consulting Engineers and is active in the engineering community. Along with his position at ASHRAE, Calahan has also been a guest member of the Nevada State Board of Engineers and represents the firm with Get Outdoors Nevada in its mission to clean up local trails and parks. He also serves as an active mentor for Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Nevada’s Boys Night Out and worked with Habitat for Humanity to help build a new home for a single mother last year.
To learn more about Calahan’s upcoming humanitarian trip to Guatemala, or to donate to ASHRAE’s lighting initiative, visit https://www.regionx.org/single-post/2019/03/06/Light-the-World-Project.
