Proposed Revisions to Energy Standard for Existing Buildings Open for Public Comment

ATLANTA – Public input is being sought into revision of an ASHRAE/IES standard that addresses retrofit of existing residential and commercial buildings to achieve greater energy efficiency.

Last year, ASHRAE and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) announced they were revising ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 100-2006, Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings, to provide greater guidance and a more comprehensive approach to the retrofit of existing buildings for increased energy efficiency. The standard was first published in 1981, and the need for its requirements has grown as more attention is paid to improving energy in current building stock.

“Information from the International Energy Agency shows that the building sector is the largest consumer of energy in the United States, using some 40.3 quadrillion Btus of energy in 2002, around 41 percent of total U.S. energy use,” Rick Hermans, chair of the committee writing the standard, said. “Compliance with this standard by every building would reduce that energy use by three quarters.”

Public input to the proposed changes is being sought from May 4 until June 18. For more information on how to comment, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.

The proposed changes include criteria for energy use surveys and auditing and requirements related to implementation and verification. Appendices are included for life cycle cost analysis procedures as well as identification of potential energy conservation measures.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]Recognizing that the actual occupancy of the building plays a key role in its performance, the standard established the need for development of an energy management plan and an operation and maintenance plan.

“The standard takes advantage of the fact that any building which has been in operation for at least 12 months can quickly determine its performance relative to some benchmark, which is defined in the standard as an energy use intensity target,” Hermans said. “This concept is the new paradigm for energy conscious design, construction and operation of buildings.”

The standard provides requirements for the retrofit of existing buildings and addresses major and minor modifications for both residential and commercial buildings, single and multiple activity buildings with variable occupancy periods and identifies an approach for 53 building types in 16 climate zones/sub-zones.

The revised standard also identifies energy efficiency requirements for buildings with and without energy targets and provides multiple levels of compliance.

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a building technology society with more than 50,000 members worldwide. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability within the industry. Through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today.

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