ASHRAE - News Release:

May 20, 2011

Contact Jodi Scott
Public Relations
678-539-1140
jscott@ashrae.org

ASHRAE Commends Senators Shaheen (D-NH) and Portman (R-Ohio) for Introducing the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2011

ATLANTA – New legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would help pave the way to make buildings more energy efficient by reducing barriers in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors to make use of new technologies.

“ASHRAE commends and thanks Senators Shaheen and Portman for their leadership in introducing the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2011,” Lynn G. Bellenger, ASHRAE’s 2010-2011 president, said. “This bill takes a significant step forward in our nation’s efforts to conserve the environment and encourage sustainability while fueling the economic recovery. We are particularly pleased that the legislation would encourage the U.S. Department of Energy to work with code and standard development organizations to develop definitions of energy use intensity (EUI) for use in model codes or in evaluating the efficiency impacts of the codes. In many ways the focus of this legislation parallels ASHRAE’s own focus on increasing energy efficiency, as seen through Standards 90.1 and 189.1, our building professional certifications and training programs.”

ASHRAE worked with Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to develop this legislation, and will continue to be an active partner in developing this, and similar legislation.

ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2010, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, was developed in partnership with the Illuminating Engineering Society of North American (IES). Standard 90.1 provides minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design of buildings except low-rise residential buildings. Without plug loads, Standard 90.1-2010 site energy savings are 32.6 percent and energy cost savings 30.1 percent compared with the 2004 version. Including plug loads, the site energy savings are estimated at 25.5 percent and energy cost savings 24 percent using the same basis.

ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2009, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is the first code-intended green building standard in the United States. It covers site sustainability, water use efficiency, energy ef¬ficiency, indoor environmental quality and the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources as well as construction and plans for operation. ASHRAE’s partners in developing 189.1 are the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America and the U.S. Green Building Council. Standard 189.1 serves as a jurisdictional compliance option of the International Green Construction Code being developed by the International Code Council, the American Institute of Architects and ASTM International. For complete information on the standard, including a readable copy, visit www.ashrae.org/greenstandard.