Major changes to requirements regarding building envelope, lighting, mechanical and the energy cost budget are contained in the newly published energy standard from ASHRAE and IES.
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2013, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, incorporates 110 addenda, reflecting changes made through the public review process. Appendix F gives brief descriptions and publication dates of the addenda to 90.1-2010 reflected in this new edition.
“While many things have changed since the first version of Standard 90 was published in 1975, the need to reduce building energy use and cost has not,” Steve Skalko, chair of the committee that wrote the 2013 standard, said. “This standard represents many advances over the 2010 standard, as we worked toward our goal of making the standard 40 to 50 percent more stringent than the 2004 standard.”
“Achieving the stringency goals established for the 2013 standard presented a challenge in reducing the requirements for lighting,” Rita Harrold, director of technology for the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, said. “While interior lighting power densities (LPD) were re-evaluated and most lowered, there continues to be an ongoing concern about maintaining quality of lighting installations for occupant satisfaction and comfort while achieving energy savings. The focus in the 2013 standard, therefore, was not just on lowering LPDs but on finding ways to achieve savings by adding more controls and daylighting requirements as well as including lighting limits for exterior applications based on jurisdictional zoning.”
The most significant changes are:
- Building Envelope. Opaque elements and fenestration requirements have been revised to increase stringency while maintaining a reasonable level of cost-effectiveness. Opaque and fenestration assemblies in Tables 5.5-1 through 5.5-8 are revised in most climates. These changes include:
- Criteria requiring double glazed fenestration in many climates
- Minimum visible transmittance/solar heat gain coefficient (VT/SHGC) ratio to enable good daylighting with minimum solar gain, while not restricting triple- and quadruple-glazing.
- Simplification of the skylighting criteria.
- Lighting: These changes include improvements to daylighting and daylighting controls, space-by-space lighting power density limits, thresholds for toplighting and revised controls requirements and format.
- Mechanical: Equipment efficiencies are increased for heat pumps, packaged terminal air conditioners, single package vertical heat pumps and air conditioners evaporative condensers. Also, fan efficiency requirements are introduced for the first time. Additional provisions address commercial refrigeration equipment, improved controls on heat rejection and boiler equipment, requirements for expanded use of energy recovery, small motor efficiencies and fan power control and credits. Control revision requirements have been added to the standard such as direct digital controls in many applications. Finally, the 2013 edition completes the work that was begun on equipment efficiencies for chillers in the 2010 edition.
- Energy Cost Budget (ECB) & Modeling: Improvements were made to the ECB and Appendix G provisions to clarify the use of the prescriptive provisions when performing building energy use modeling. In addition, these sections were revised to enhance capturing daylighting when doing the modeling calculations.
Another important change for the 2013 standard is the first alternate compliance path in Chapter 6. Section 6.6 was added to the 2010 edition to provide a location for alternate methods of compliance with the standard. The first such alternate path has been developed for computer room systems and was formulated with the assistance of ASHRAE technical committee 9.9, Mission Critical Facilities, Data Centers, Technology Spaces and Electronic Equipment. This path uses the Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) metric established by the datacom industry. This alternate efficiency path format provides a framework that could be considered for other energy using facets of buildings not easily covered in the prescriptive provisions of the standard.
Also new to the standard are requirements for operating escalators and moving walkways at minimum speed per ASME A17.1 when not conveying passengers.
The cost of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2013, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is 135 ($115, ASHRAE members). To order, contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide), fax 678-539-2129, or visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore.
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. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today.
Related Stories
Market Data | Jul 21, 2022
Despite deteriorating economic conditions, nonresidential construction spending projected to increase through 2023
Construction spending on buildings is projected to increase just over nine percent this year and another six percent in 2023, according to a new report from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Mixed-Use | Jul 21, 2022
Former Los Angeles Macy’s store converted to mixed-use commercial space
Work to convert the former Westside Pavilion Macy's department store in West Los Angeles to a mixed-use commercial campus recently completed.
Building Team | Jul 20, 2022
San Francisco overtakes Tokyo as the world’s most expensive city for construction
San Francisco has overtaken Tokyo as the world’s most expensive city for construction, according to a new report from Turner & Townsend.
Libraries | Jul 20, 2022
Canada to open one of the world’s largest library and archive facilities
When it opens in 2026, Ādisōke is expected to be one of the largest library and archive facilities in the world.
Energy-Efficient Design | Jul 19, 2022
All is not lost: 3 ways architects can respond to the Supreme Court’s EPA ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants dealt a significant blow to our ability to fight the climate crisis with federal policy.
Women in Design+Construction | Jul 18, 2022
Registration is open for BD+C's 2022 Women in Design+Construction Conference
Join your AEC industry peers in Chicago, September 26-28, 2022, for the 7th annual Women in Design+Construction Conference, hosted by the BD+C editorial team and the 35-person WIDC Advisory Board.
Airports | Jul 18, 2022
FAA will award nearly $1 billion for airport projects
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will award nearly $1 billion to 85 airports of all sizes across the country to improve terminals.
Building Team | Jul 18, 2022
Understanding the growing design-build market
FMI’s new analysis of the design-build market forecast for the next fives years shows that this delivery method will continue to grow, despite challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mixed-Use | Jul 18, 2022
Mixed-use development outside Prague uses a material made from leftover bricks
Outside Prague, the Sugar Factory, a mixed-used residential development with public space, marks the largest project to use the sustainable material Rebetong.
Building Team | Jul 15, 2022
ABC: Construction materials prices increased in June, up 20% from a year ago
Construction input prices increased 1.9% in June compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today.