High-Performing Building Standard Open for Review
Proposed Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is now open for its second public review.
The standard will provide minimum requirements for the design of high-performance new commercial buildings and major renovation projects, addressing energy efficiency, a building's impact on the atmosphere, sustainable sites, water use efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. It is being developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and the U.S. Green Building Council.
"This standard is an energy-saving stepping stone toward ASHRAE's goal of net-zero-energy buildings," says John Hogan, chair of the committee that wrote the standard. "It gives building owners or jurisdictions that voluntarily choose to adopt the standard a tool for constructing truly high-performing buildings that provide energy-efficient, safe, and comfortable environments for occupants."
By applying the minimum set of prescriptive recommendations, the new standard leads to site energy savings ranging from 10 percent to 41 percent over Standard 90.1-2007, including plug and process loads and all other energy consumption for the building, with an average of 24.9 percent for all climates.
The proposed standard also provides indoor water savings of 35 percent for an office building and 26 percent for a multifamily building.
To read the draft standard or to comment, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews. The public review ends April 7.
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of some 50,000 persons. ASHRAE fulfills its mission of advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education.