ASHRAE releases new version of energy efficiency standard for buildings

ASHRAE has released an expanded, revised version of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2019, Energy Efficiency Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.

It contains more than 100 changes from the 2016 version, including numerous energy-saving measures. The new version “focuses on energy-saving measures which we hope will reward designs for achieving energy cost levels above the standard minimum and result in more efficient buildings and more innovative solutions,” says Drake Erbe, chair of the Standard 90.1 committee, in an ASHRAE news release.

Notable changes include:

— Commissioning requirements were added for the first time.

— Minimum criteria for SHGC and U-factor were upgraded across all climate zones.

— Lighting power allowances for the Space-by-Space Method and the Building Area Method were modified to make them more representative of real-world conditions.

— An option to use ASHRAE Standard 90.4 instead of ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 requirements in computer rooms that have an IT equipment load larger than 10 kW was added.

— Clearer and more specific rules were added related to how renewables are treated. A new fan energy index (FEI) as the metric for efficiency provisions for commercial and industrial fans and blowers was added.