Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009 - (Page 7)

In The News President Obama’s Stimulus Bill will provide energy assistance to states A NEWS AT A GLANCE • The Fifth Annual 2009 Consulting-Specifying Engineer Product of the Year contest has begun. The premier award for new products in the HVAC, fire, electrical, and plumbing engineering markets ahs been moved online. Visit www.csemag.com/poy to check out the newly updated product categories and entry forms. Entries are due Feb. 20, at 5 p.m. • A recent report by Hewitt Associates—a Lincolnshire, Ill.-based human-resources consulting firm—states that U.S. pay raises in 2009 will be at the lowest level in more than 30 years. According to the study, salaried workers will receive an average salary increase of 2.5% in 2009, down from 3.8% as projected back in July. While the report predicts people in the automotive and banking industries will have the lowest projected increases (1.4% and 1.3%, respectively), employees in the engineering and construction fields will have the highest—4.5%. ccording the International Code Council (ICC), the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (HR 1) passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 28. The House of Representatives passed the legislation, which includes $3.4 billion in energy assistance grants for states. The state’s conditional grants require the adoption of the ICC’s 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The bill requires the state governors to certify that their state will adopt energy codes for one-and two-family homes, townhouses, and low-rise multiple-family buildings. The homes must meet or exceed provisions in the 2009 IECC for residential construction. The buildings must also comply with the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2008, as referenced in the 2009 IECC for commercial buildings. The governors agree that their states will meet the certified energy codes in at least 90% of new and renovated commercial buildings within eight years. Code Council CEO Rick Weiland said “This legislation is right in line with President Obama’s push to make public buildings more efficient, reduce our dependency on foreign oil, and bring down overall costs to consumers and building owners. With buildings responsible for 40% of annual energy consumption and 25% of landfill deposits, energy efficiency is inseparable from environmental security and health safety.” The ICC simplifies the process for states’ compliance. The ICC incorporates ASHRAE 90.1 in the 2009 IECC. ASHRAE 90.1 reference maintains language contained in the 2006 IECC, which is currently being enforced by state and location authorities. States adopting the 2009 IECC will also be in compliance with the federal Energy Policy Act. DOE adopts 90.1-2004 T EVENTS • March 1-3: AMCA Technical Seminar and Spring Meeting, Orlando, Fla. • March 15-17: EGSA Annual Spring Convention, San Antonio FOR MORE NEWS STORIES GO TO: he Dept. of Energy (DOE) has established ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004, Energy Standard for Buildings except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, as the commercial building reference standard for state building energy codes under the federal Energy Policy Act. The Act requires all states to certify that they have state energy codes in place that are at least as stringent as 90.1-2004, or justify why they cannot comply. The DOE determined that Standard 90.1-2004 saves more energy than Standard 90.1-1999, which was the previously referenced standard in the Act. “The quantitative analysis of the energy consumption of buildings built to Standard 90.1-2004, as compared with buildings built to Standard 90.1-1999, indicates national source energy savings of approximately 13.9% of commercial building energy consumption. Site energy savings are estimated to be approximately 11.9%,” according to the ruling published in The Federal Register on Dec. 30, 2008. “ASHRAE is committed to continually improving building energy performance, so we are pleased with this recognition that the 2004 standard saves more energy,” ASHRAE President Bill Harrison said. “ASHRAE is currently working on the 2010 version of Standard 90.1 with a goal of achieving 30% energy savings compared to 90.1-2004 as part of our target to achieve market-viable net-zero-energy buildings by 2015.” “The Illuminating Engineering Society is pleased to receive the DOE’s positive determination on the site and source energy savings achieved by ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2004 compared to the 1999 standard,” said Rita Harrold, IES director of technology. She also expressed the society’s appreciation for the contributions of the committee members responsible for developing the standard, which help further the goals of the sponsoring organizations, and for the DOE’s diligence in conducting the determination. WWW.CSEMAG.COM Consulting-Specifying Engineer • FEBRUARY 2009 7 http://www.csemag.com/poy

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009 Contents Viewpoint News M/E Roundtable Codes & Standards Electrical Modernization: A Tale of Two Hospitals Retrofitting Office Lighting Controls Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertiser Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - February 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.