Maximizing building efficiency and sustainability will require a fundamental shift in how buildings are approached from design to operation, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) President Lynn G. Bellenger, PE, FASHRAE, testified during a U.S. House Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization and Procurement hearing on the federal government's role in greening buildings July 21 in Washington, D.C.
“Working together toward a whole-building approach that fully considers how each system and building component will interact — instead of each discipline focusing on their own area of expertise — will be an essential element of ensuring that taxpayer dollars are well-spent,” Bellenger said.
During the hearing, Bellenger highlighted several ASHRAE efforts and initiatives intended to help increase building efficiency, including ASHRAE's:
Advanced Energy Design Guide series (www.ashrae.org/freeaedg).
Certification programs for high-performance-building design, building energy modeling, health-care-facility design, commissioning, and operations and performance management (www.ashrae.org/certification).
Building Energy Quotient program (www.buildingeq.com).
ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2009, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (www.ashrae.org/greenstandard).
Testifying during a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) hearing on the notice of proposed rulemaking on energy efficiency and sustainable design standards for new federal buildings and major renovations of federal buildings July 27, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Vice President Ross Montgomery encouraged the DOE's Federal Energy Management Program to reference ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
“From site location to energy use and recycling, this standard will set the foundation for green buildings through its adoption into local codes,” Montgomery said. “ASHRAE strongly believes that Standard 189.1 can help meet many of the federal government's building needs.”