American National Standard Results in Greater Energy Efficiency, DoE Ruling States

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a ruling establishing the American National Standard ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2010, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, as the commercial building reference standard for state building energy codes under the federal Energy Conservation and Production Act.

Issued in an October 19 Federal Register notice, the ruling was taken after preliminary analysis indicated that the 2010 edition bears significant energy savings over the 2007 standard. The energy consumption of buildings built to Standard 90.1-2010, as compared with those built to the 2007 edition, indicates national source energy savings of approximately 18.2 percent of commercial building energy consumption. Additionally, site energy savings are estimated to be approximately 18.5 percent. As a result of the ruling, states are required to certify by October 18, 2013, that they have updated the provisions of their commercial building code regarding energy efficiency to meet or exceed 90.1-2010.

The DoE attributes the greater energy savings to improvements in the 2010 edition related to better lighting, daylighting, controls and building envelope, better mechanical systems, and application to more systems.

ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2010 is an American National Standard developed jointly by ASHRAE and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), both members and accredited standards developers of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). This standard provides minimum energy-efficient requirements for the design and construction of new buildings and their systems, new portions of buildings and their systems, and new systems and equipment in existing buildings.

"The foundation of energy efficient buildings continues to grow stronger with the news that DoE is now referencing the 2010 standard," said Ron Jarnagin, ASHRAE president. "ASHRAE hopes to make that foundation even stronger through our current work with IES developing the 2013 standard."

Initially developed in response to the energy crisis in the 1970s, Standard 90.1 influences building designs worldwide. It has become the basis for building codes, and the standard for building design and construction throughout the United States. ASHRAE and IES publish a revised version of the standard every three years.

For more information, see the Federal Register notice.