ASHRAE Journal - January 2015 - 38

TECHNICAL FEATURE

codes have generally not addressed it,
so savings has been low.

TABLE 3 Standard 90.1 Prototype Building Model HVAC Systems

Building Prototype

Heating

Cooling

Main System

Other System

Small Office

Heat Pump

Unitary DX

Packaged CAV

Medium Office

Gas Furnace

Unitary DX

Packaged VAV w/Reheat

Large Office

Boiler

Chiller, Cooling Tower

VAV w/Reheat

Stand-Alone Retail

Gas Furnace

Unitary DX

Packaged CAV/VAV

Conclusion
We have seen significant savings in new commercial building
energy use since the first edition of
a building efficiency standard in
1975. Continuing to save energy will
require a careful focus on how energy
is used in commercial buildings.
Examining the simulation results
from a representative set of code
compliant commercial buildings
across climate zones can inform code
developers and design professionals
where the remaining energy savings
potential lies.

Strip Mall

Gas Furnace

Unitary DX

Packaged CAV/VAV

Primary School

Gas Furnace

Unitary DX

Packaged CAV/VAV

Secondary School

Boiler

Air-cooled Chiller

VAV w/Reheat

Packaged CAV

Outpatient Healthcare

Boiler

Unitary DX

Packaged VAV w/Reheat

Hospital

Boiler

Chiller, Cooling Tower

VAV w/Reheat

Central CAV

Small Hotel

Electricity

PTAC

Large Hotel

Boiler

Air-cooled Chiller

Fan-coil Units

VAV w/Reheat

The study is built upon PNNL's code team's
Progress Indicator analysis to support
Standard 90.1-2013 development. The
author would like to acknowledge PNNL
commercial code simulation team including Michael Rosenberg, Rahul Athalye, Dr.
YuLong Xie, Dr. Weimin Wang, Dr. Jian
Zhang, Eric Richman, Mark Halverson,
Supriya Goel, and Vrushali Mendon with
team leadership by Bing Liu. Members of the
ASHRAE SSPC 90.1 provided valuable feedback to development of the prototypes and
typical buildings. This analysis was funded
by the U.S. Department of Energy's Building
Energy Codes Program. The author also
acknowledges Mr. Jeremiah Williams from
DOE for his technical guidance on this study.

Gas Furnace

Unitary DX

Unit Heater

Packaged CAV

Gas Furnace

Unitary DX

Packaged CAV

Full-service Restaurant

Gas Furnace

Unitary DX

Packaged CAV

Mid-rise Apartment

Gas

Split DX system

High-rise Apartment

Acknowledgments

Warehouse
Quick-service Restaurant

Boiler

Fluid Cooler

WSHP

Abbreviations used in table: DX: direct expansion cooling; CAV/VAV: systems are constant air volume (CAV) or variable air volume (VAV) depending
on size and code requirements; PTAC: packaged terminal air conditioners; WSHP: water source heat pump.

TABLE 4 Total end use "opportunity potential scores," prioritized.

Light.Int Light.Ext
Office

ASHRAE JOURNAL

ashrae.org

Cool

Fan.Aux

Misc

Equip

3.5

6.4

4.1

5.3

5.4

6.1

10.8

Warehouse

5.7

4.4

6.0

4.4

3.2

3.1

6.7

Retail

10.5

4.0

6.3

2.8

5.2

5.6

8.6

Hotel

5.5

4.9

7.3

3.3

6.4

4.9

7.5

9.5

Apt

6.6

4.5

8.3

4.1

6.0

6.8

6.5

9.6

School

6.1

3.2

6.3

3.0

5.3

4.4

5.3

9.5

Medical

8.2

3.5

6.3

6.0

8.0

6.9

9.2

11.0

Food.Svc

4.7

4.5

9.3

8.4

7.1

5.8

7.9

10.4

U.S. Weighted

7.1

4.0

6.7

3.8

5.3

5.2

4.1

9.2

1. ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2013,
Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
2. Thornton, B., et al. "Achieving the 30% Goal: Energy and Cost
Saving Analysis of ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2010." PNNL for USDOE,
May 2011. http://tinyurl.com/l3n93du.
3. Architecture 2030. 2011. "The 2030 Challenge." 2030 Inc. http://
tinyurl.com/n8s368q
4. Livingston, O., P. Cole, D. Elliott and R. Bartlett. 2013. "Building
Energy Codes Program: National Benefits Assessment, 1992-2040."
PNNL-22610 Rev 1, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
5. EIA. 2011. Energy Data Book. U.S. Energy Information Administration. http://buildingsdatabook.eren.doe.gov/
6. EIA. 2003. "2003 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption
Survey (CBECS)." U.S. Energy Information Administration. http://
tinyurl.com/d6jeyqx.
38

Heat

5.9

Low Potential

References

SHW

JAN UARY 2015

High Potential
7. U.S. Census Bureau. 2013. "Historical Value put in Place; Total
Annual for 2013." http://tinyurl.com/my77g6b.
8. Jarnagin, R., G. Bandyopadhyay. 2010. "Weighting Factors for the
Commercial Prototype Buildings Used in the Development of ANSI/
ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2010." PNNL-19116, Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory. http://tinyurl.com/nyjn6jb.
9. DOE. 2013. "Energy Plus Energy Simulation Software, Version
8.0." U.S. Department of Energy. http://tinyurl.com/lj6drd3.
10. Goel, S., et al. 2014."Enhancements to ASHRAE Standard 90.1 Prototype Building Models." Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. http://
tinyurl.com/k23sr7f.
11. Hart, R., Y. Xie. "End-Use Opportunity Analysis from Progress
Indicator Results for ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2013." Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory. http://tinyurl.com/medbqc4.

ASHRAE Journal - January 2015

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