ASHRAE: Standards to know in 2024

ASHRAE, an acronym for American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, is an organization that has been busy updating a variety of standards including a few relatively new this  year – these affect our industry of consulting engineering as well as almost every American in their daily lives. Read on to see what's changed! 

1.     ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 100-2024, Energy and Emissions Building Performance Standard for Existing Buildings 

The latest version of this standard has been expanded to include a greater focus on building decarbonization. So – what is a standard? Created in collaboration by industry leaders, a standard is simply a code-ready system of processes and performance goals for all types of buildings. In this update to Standard 100, further advancements are made to requirements for existing buildings, and targets for dozens of other types. Some key features include the following: 

• New metrics provided for establishing greenhouse gas emissions targets, along with continued improvements to energy efficiency and performance in existing buildings. 

• Building requirements to: 

  • Establish an energy management plan incorporating efficient, low-carbon equipment into capital replacement. 

  • Achieve energy and emissions performance goals 

  • Implement an operations and maintenance program for continued building performance. 

• Simple compliance mechanism for energy-efficient and low-emission buildings.

• Energy audit and decarbonization assessment and a separate compliance process for building types that do not have energy or emissions targets. 

• Guidance for jurisdictions seeking to develop their own energy consumption and/or greenhouse gas emissions targets. 

With these updates, further attention will be brought to keeping older buildings from falling behind as well as paving the way for maximally efficient built environments in the immediate future. 

2.     ASHRAE/ICC Standard 240P – Quantification of Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Buildings  

Yet, with the new requirements, there needs to be a process and methodology for documentation across a building's life span, and the standard needs to be universal to support other stakeholders in industries like finance or consulting engineering. By streamlining how this data is collected, it will be easily decipherable regardless of location. Additionally, this update was jointly created with the ICC, otherwise known as the International Code Council, meaning projects abroad will match more closely to the sustainability data tracked within the United States. Though a large focus is on the methodology of how the emissions are recorded, it also provides basic requirements documentation to keep new buildings advancing at a steady pace.  

 According to 2023-24 ASHRAE President Ginger Scoggins, PE, Fellow ASHRAE, 

 "Standard 240P will play a pivotal role in addressing embodied carbon and significantly impacting the built environment's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, particularly within mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems. We are pleased to collaborate with the International Code Council (ICC) on this standard, recognizing the joint effort's potential to advance effective solutions and contribute to a more sustainable future." 

3.     ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2022, Energy Standard for Sites and Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, 

Last, but certainly not least, are some impressive projections of the nationwide impact of this standard. With the greenlight from the Department of Energy of the standard's efficacy, each state is required to review its respective commercial building codes to either meet or exceed the price savings outlined by the Department of Energy. Luckily, the statistics are simple and powerful, focused on the national savings of commercial buildings as a result of Standard 90.1-2022: 

o   9.8% Site Energy Savings 

o   9.4% Source Energy Savings 

o   9.3% Carbon Emissions Savings 

These savings affect dozens of areas of the economy, and are an important step forward in widescale, global building decarbonization of the built environment. This standard is also marks the first time onsite generation of renewable energy systems has become a prescriptive requirement of the standard, recognizing the role of renewables in new constructions. Other key features include: 

o   Customizable Energy Credits 

o   New Mechanical System Efficiency Performance Option 

o   Requirements to Address Thermal Bridging 

o   Expanded Criteria for Whole-Building Air-Leakage Testing 

o   Updated Lighting Power Allowances 

o   Additional Guidance for Using Emissions in Addition to Traditional Site, Source and Cost-Based Metrics 

Standard 90.1 is a compelling compliance path, but as with all options, there are pitfalls. For instance, the standard requires receptacle control which is typically not favored by owners, and also is tricky to implement in large, open plan offices with systems furniture. However, since 90.1 is the baseline by which LEED (via energy models) and energy efficiency rebate programs measure performance to determine the incentive amount. Put simply, this could be a promising "found money" opportunity! 

With this ASHRAE news in the first quarter of 2024, our firm is reminded of the accelerating interest in sustainability, and the importance of staying up to date, and contributing, to the process of creating the best built environments possible. Thanks for reading!