Public input is being sought until June 18 for the revision
of an ASHRAE/Illuminating Engineering Society standard that addresses retrofit
of existing residential and commercial buildings to achieve greater energy
efficiency. For more information on how to comment, visitwww.ashrae.org/publicreviews.
Last year, ASHRAE and 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 Btu of
energy in 2002, around 41% of total U.S. energy use,” saidRick
Hermans, chair of the committee writing the standard.
“Compliance with this standard by every building would reduce that energy use
by three quarters.”
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.
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 as well as 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.
