Consulting-Specifying Engineer - November 2008 - (Page 42)

Codes & Standards Advanced energy codes lead to major savings All levels of government are pressuring the code community to cut emissions from the built environment via energy reductions. BY JIM EDELSON AND MARK CHERNIACK, New Buildings Institute, White Salmon, Wash. S tate and local jurisdictions around the country are examining advanced alternatives to the traditional national Model Energy Codes, including ASHRAE 90.1 and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). In 2006 the American Institute for Architects (AIA) developed the “2030 Challenge,” an aggressive energy-efficiency goal that is now being promoted by Architecture 2030. The Challenge There are two major categories of energy codes for commercial buildings: those based on national standards, and those developed by individual states or local jurisdictions. Each state can adopt whatever energy code approach it chooses. calls for a 60% reduction in energy use in existing buildings by 2010, with efficiency ratcheting upward to 2030, when all buildings, residential and commercial, have achieved a zero net energy (ZNE) status. In practical terms, this means a 60% to 80% reduction in the buildings’ energy use coupled with on-site or nearby renewable sources of energy to drop energy use to near or at zero. The 2030 ZNE goal has been adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a growing number of local jurisdictions and states, as well as the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), ASHRAE, AIA, and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, among other national trade groups. The Challenge has greatly boosted interest in advanced codes and standards. In addition, the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 requires that total energy use in federal buildings be reduced 30% from 2005 levels by 2015. EISA also requires that fossil-fuel energy use—relative to the 2003 level—be reduced 55% by 2010 and eliminated by 2030. Management and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the buildings sector, which consumes 40% of U.S. energy, requires substantially reduced energy use in buildings. Even the latest ASHRAE and IECC standards do not provide effi- AT A GLANCE ciency levels that are technically achievable and cost-effective. Programs like the USGBC LEED or the Green Building Initiative Green Globes are also promoting enhanced standards and codes, since they require higher energy efficiency standards in buildings seeking program certification. These two programs acknowledge that energy-efficiency levels above the national standards are both possible and highly valued in the buildings marketplace. Given this policy setting, much of the code community and building industry is looking at two quantum levels of improvement to address the climate challenge: (1) A near-term 30% energy use reduction over the conventional national standards noted above, based on off-the-shelf technologies and widely accepted, although little practiced, integrated design strategies; and (2) a mediumterm 50% improvement over prevailing national standards, based on anticipated improvements in technologies (e.g., solid-state lighting) and new design, operation, and human factors in the built environment. Existing national energy standards There are two major categories of energy codes for commercial buildings: those based on national standards, and those developed by individual states or local jurisdictions. Each state can adopt whatever energy code approach it chooses (see Figure 1). Where state law permits the option for local jurisdictions to exceed the statewide standard, assuming there is one, a variety of energy standards can exist. Advanced energy codes and standards A number of existing and proposed energy standards either have been adopted as enforceable code language or are voluntary in nature. It is likely that some of the components and approaches of the voluntary standards may become the basis for advanced codes resulting in approximately 30% 42 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • NOVEMBER 2008

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Consulting-Specifying Engineer - November 2008 Contents Viewpoint News M/E Roundtable Comissioning Lighting Controls Prevent Plugholing: Smoke Control Done Right Commercial Geothermal Heating and Cooling System Design Codes &�Standards Case Study New Products Equipment Lifecycles Advertiser Index Green Space

Consulting-Specifying Engineer - November 2008

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