ASHRAE Journal- September 2008

Energy in Federal Buildings By Ryan M. Colker ollowing passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) by Congress late last year, federal buildings are subject to many new requirements regarding energy use (see June 2008 “Washington Report”). Several agencies, including the General Services Administration, expressed concerns about the availability of guidance, tools, technology, and knowledge to achieve the new requirements. To address these concerns, the Federal Facilities Council (FFC) and a group of private sector organizations led by ASHRAE convened a workshop, High-Performance Federal Buildings: Meeting EISA Requirements Through 2030. The workshop brought together senior federal facilities officials and leaders from the private sector to brainstorm on the applicability of existing resources to reach these goals and the new methods and materials needed, specifically in the areas of finance and acquisitions, technical and design guidance, technology solutions, and education and training. Many valuable recommendations came out of the sessions, and they will be synthesized into a report. Subcommittees of the FFC and volunteers from the private sector will discuss further the recommendations and identify opportunities for implementation. Preliminary recommendations include: • Establish a database of resources including best practices, lessons learned, and technologies used by agencies to share knowledge on achieving energy goals; • Implement an energy-efficiency revolving loan fund to allow agencies to finance energy-efficiency projects, and repay the loan with the money resulting from reduced energy use; • Develop guides similar to the ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guides for major federal building types and targeted at achieving federal agency energy requirements; and • Consider looking at a portfolio approach to meeting energy goals rather than focusing on reaching targets in individual buildings. More details on the workshop, including the program, presentations, and upcoming related activities, are available at www. nationalacademies.org/ffc. DOE Launches Rule-Making Marathon F beverage vending machines (73 FR 34094), and commercial heating, air-conditioning, and water-heating equipment (73 FR 40770). For residential equipment, the department initiated the second rule making cycle for central air conditioners and heat pumps. The first rule making cycle in 2001 established 13 SEER and 7.7 HSPF minimums. The new final rule is scheduled for publication by June 2011 with compliance effective June 2016. As the first step in the rule-making process, DOE has released a framework document outlining the anticipated issues, analyses, and processes for use in developing the revised standards. Based on requirements contained in EISA, the new standards will incorporate standby-mode and off-mode energy use and possibly implementation of regional standards. In the vending machine rule-making process, DOE announced its intention to establish energy conservation standards for this type of equipment and provided information on the analysis being performed to develop the candidate standard levels. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) directs DOE to prescribe energy conservation standards for these products by August 2009 with an application date three years following publication of the final rule. Previously, this equipment has not been subject to federal energy conservation standards. The commercial equipment notice meets the requirement that each time ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is amended, DOE must assess the need to update the uniform national energy conservation standards for commercial HVAC&R equipment. DOE’s notice of data availability discusses the results of DOE’s analysis of the energy savings potential of amended energy conservation standards for certain types of commercial equipment covered by Standard 90.1. After review of the public comments on this notice of data availability, DOE decides if the amended efficiency levels in Standard 90.1-2007 have the potential for additional energy savings for types of equipment currently covered by uniform national standards. If so, DOE will commence rule making to consider amended standards based upon the efficiency levels in Standard 90.1-2007 or more stringent efficiency levels. Amended standards should result in significant additional energy conservation, be technologically feasible, and economically justified. Ryan M. Colker is ASHRAE’s Manager of Government Affairs in Washington, D.C. Up-to-date information on ASHRAE’s Government Affairs activities is available at http://www.ashrae. org/advocacy. ashrae.org September 2008 In three separate notices, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has begun the process of establishing new federal energy conservation standards for HVAC&R equipment. The three equipment categories include residential central air conditioners and heat pumps (73 FR 32243), refrigerated bottled or canned 88 ASHRAE Journal http://www.nationalacademies.org/ffc http://www.nationalacademies.org/ffc http://www.ashrae.org/advocacy http://www.ashrae.org/advocacy http://ashrae.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal- September 2008

ASHRAE Journal- September 2008 Section: Contents Contents Section: Commentary Options for Sustainability Section: Industry News The Silk Route for Energy Solar Thermal Is Unrealized Opportunity Industry Groups Sue City of Albuquerque Section: Letters Letters Section: Meetings and Shows Meetings and Shows Section: Feature Articles Article-Radiant Floor Cooling Systems Article-HVAC Design for Sustainable Lab Article-Mixed Mode Ventilation Article-Single- Design Considerations For Active Chilled Beams Article-Acoustic Design In Green Buildings Article-Teams, Contracts & BIM Section: Building Sciences Some Old Lessons Distilled Section: Washington Report Energy in Federal Buildings Section: Products HVAC&R Product Showplace Section: Emerging Technologies Toplighting & Lighting Controls For Commercial Buildings Section: Special Products Fans & Blowers Section: Classified Ads Classified Ads Section: Advertising Index Advertising Index

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