The latest ANSI/ASHRAE/IES energy standard for sites and buildings, except for low-rise residential structures, would lead to greater energy efficiency in commercial buildings, according to a US Department of Energy determination published March 6 in Federal Register.
New commercial buildings that meet the requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2022 would have an average energy savings of 9.8 percent compared to those that only meet the 2019 standard, according to an analysis by the agency. It also projects an average of 9.4% in source energy savings, 8.9% in energy cost savings and 9.3% in carbon emissions savings when uses the 2022 standard compared to the 2019 version.
The 2022 version of Standard 90.1 adds a prescriptive minimum requirement for on-site renewable energy for the first time. Other highlights include an optional mechanical system performance route and requirements to address thermal bridging impacts.
Of the 89 published addenda to the 2022 standard, DOE analysts expect 39 would decrease energy consumption and the rest would have no direct impact. None of the addenda are expected to increase energy consumption.
The agency’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted the analysis.
ASHRAE President Ginger Scoggins said in a statement that the DOE’s determination “further solidifies the 90.1 standard as the cornerstone for achieving energy efficiency goals and ultimately moves us closer to the global decarbonization of the ‘large-scale building of the built environment’.
Under the Energy Production and Conservation Act, the publication of the determination sets a two-year deadline for states to review their commercial building energy codes and update them as necessary to meet or exceed the standard in terms of ‘energy efficiency.
No state has yet adopted 90.1-2022, according to department records, but an ASHRAE spokesman says Oregon and New York are in the process of doing so.
