ASHRAE and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) are revising ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 100-2006, Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings, to provide greater guidance and a more comprehensive approach to the retrofit of existing buildings for increased energy efficiency.
Originally published in 1981, the need for its requirements has grown as more attention is being paid to improved energy use in current buildings. A mere 2% of construction projects are for new buildings – 86% of construction dollars go into renovation of existing buildings.
Of the 94.6 quadrillion btu of energy consumed in the United States in 2009, 42% was used by commercial and residential buildings.
Over the next 24 years, national electric consumption is expected to grow by over 22% and natural gas consumption by 16%.
In the same period, the amount of commercial and residential floor space in the marketplace is expected to increase by 37% and 17% respectively.
“ In order to offset the growing amount of floor space and subsequent increased energy demands, existing buildings must improve their efficiency, even if every new square foot were built and operated at net zero energy,” says Rick Hermans, chair of the Standard 100 committee. “ASHRAE and IES are working to make Standard 100 the best source of practical, accurate and cost effective design guidance for existing buildings.”
The standard addresses major and minor modifications for both residential and commercial buildings, single and multiple activity buildings with variable occupancy periods and identifies an energy target for 53 building types in 16 climate zones/sub-zones.
The revised standard also identifies energy efficiency requirements for buildings without energy targets – mostly industrial, agricultural, data centers and special laboratories – and provides multiple levels of compliance.
The standard is open for an advisory public review until May 25, 2011. Visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews for more information.
ASHRAE Funds Research for Building Maintenance
