ASHRAE Journal - June 2010 - S3

  ASHRAE Journal’s

Commentary Guide to Standard 189.1 Standardizing High Performance
ting requirements for energy efficiency in buildings. The standard, developed in reaction to the 1970 oil embargo and  resulting energy crisis, now serves as the basis for building  codes and the standard for building design and construction  throughout the United States, influencing designs worldwide.  Earlier this year, ASHRAE published another standard  that is poised to have the same impact as 90.1. Together  with the U.S. Green Building Council and the Illuminating  Engineering Society of North America (IES), we released  ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except LowRise Residential Buildings. Where Standard 90.1 sets the foundation for energy  efficiency, Standard 189.1 builds on that foundation with  additional energy efficiency measures and renewable  energy requirements and then goes a step further with  requirements for site sustainability, water use efficiency,  indoor environmental quality and the building’s impact on  the atmosphere, materials and resources. We took another step in March toward strong sustainable  buildings by joining forces with the International Code  Council. Standard 189.1 became a jurisdictional compliance  option in the Public Version 1.0 of the International Green  Construction Code (IGCC) published by the International  Code Council. The IGCC regulates construction of new and  remodeled commercial buildings, and Standard 189.1  serves as a strong technical backbone of that document.  Together, IGCC and Standard 189.1 provide the first set  of model codes and standards for green building in the  United States. For ASHRAE Journal readers, this means  that requirements to help you in the design, operation and  maintenance of green buildings can soon be adopted by  local and state code communities. The interest in green  buildings already has shown us that the marketplace  is ready for a green building standard that sets energyefficiency requirements beyond those in Standard 90.1,  pushing the building industry toward the goal of future 
June 2010

T

  hirty-five years ago, ASHRAE set the foundation for  energy conservation with the development of Standard 90, which is the first standard in the nation set-

net-zero-energy buildings. Standard 189.1 provides that  long-needed green building foundation for those who strive to  design, build and operate green buildings.  As ASHRAE President Gordon Holness said, “The farreaching influence of the built environment necessitates  action to reduce its impact. Provisions in the standard  can reduce negative environmental impacts through highperformance building design, construction and operations  practices. Ultimately, the aim is not just energy efficiency but  a balance of environmental responsibility, resource efficiency,  occupant comfort and well-being and community sensitivity,  all while supporting the goal of sustainable development.” When I think about the standard, I envision a group  of building blocks representing ASHRAE standards and  guidelines, including Standard 55, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy; 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings; 62.1,  Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality; 180, Standard Practice for Inspection and Maintenance of Commercial Building HVAC Systems and Guideline 0, The Commissioning Process. Requirements from these existing documents  served as cornerstones in development of Standard 189.1,  along with guidance from USGBC, IES, the U.S. Department  of Energy and many other agencies and groups. This  standard is truly the most diverse in the Society’s history and  that is precisely why ASHRAE partnered with USGBC and IES  to ensure that knowledge from all aspects of the sustainable  marketplace were part of the process. The standard covers the same group of building spaces  as Standard 90.1 but only for those buildings intended as  high performance. It covers all nonresidential spaces and  all residential spaces in buildings more than three stories.  Within these buildings, Standard 189.1 applies to new and  renovated buildings and their systems; and new or renovated  portions of buildings and their systems. The standard includes mandatory provisions in each section  with an option to use a prescriptive path or performance path  for compliance. The mandatory provisions must be complied  with by all projects. The prescriptive option contains additional  criteria specified in a manner that provides a simple way  to show compliance that involves little or no calculations.  The performance option contains an alternate way to show  compliance that provides more design flexibility and is typically  more complex than the prescriptive option.
S3

ASHRAE Journal’s Guide to Standard 189.1
ASHRAE Journal - June 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - June 2010
