Proposed Addenda to ASHRAE/IES Energy Standard Open for Public Comment

April 8, 2013
Twenty-six proposed addenda to ASHRAE 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, are open for public review.

Twenty-six proposed addenda to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2010, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, are open for public comment.

“As we move toward publication of the 2013 standard, the 90.1 committee is considering many changes to reduce building energy use and cost,” Steve Skalko, chair of the Standard 90.1 committee, said. “The proposed addenda reflect a variety of changes to the standard, many of which are the result of earlier public-review comments. These changes contribute to our goal of making the standard 40- to 50-percent more stringent than the 2004 standard.”

Open for public comment until April 21 are:

• Addendum aa, which mandates direct digital control (DDC) where cost-effective for certain new-building and retrofit applications and defines the minimum capability of mandated DDC systems.

• Addendum bo, which adds requirements for gas condensing service water heaters in newly constructed buildings.

• Addendum bs, which reduces the occupancy threshold for demand-controlled ventilation.

• Addendum co, which corrects the calculation of hotel- and motel-type guestroom spaces, changing associated whole-building lighting-power densities (LPDs).

• Addendum cr, which modifies the designation of facility types eligible for higher LPDs.

• Addendum ct, which corrects an error concerning the addition of HVAC systems to heated-only storage areas in Appendix G.

• Addendum cw, which adds a movement energy-efficiency requirement for elevators.

• Addendum cy, which revises requirements for exhaust-air energy recovery as defined in Section 6.5.6.1.

• Addendum cz, which ensures revisions to a table and new footnotes are consistent with Section 303 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which increased federal minimum efficiency standards for residential-size boilers.

• Addendum da, which provides two compliance paths for high-speed doors within the mandatory-air-leakage requirements. Also, it clarifies which test glazed overhead doors are to follow.

• Addendum db, which addresses an error within Table 5.5-3 under the category “Floors, Steel Joist” and in the cells assigned to the “residential” occupancy.

• Addendum dc, which says rooms within suites should be handled individually when one becomes empty.

• Addendum dd, which clarifies the exception to re-roofing and roof re-covering.

• Addendum de, which revises the design point for waterside economizers in computer-room applications.

• Addendum df, which replaces minimum performance requirements for packaged computer-room air conditioners in Table 6.8.1k with a new table based on Standard 127-2012, Method of Testing for Rating Computer and Data Processing Room Unitary Air Conditioners.

• Addendum dg, which updates the reference to the ANSI/CRRC Standard to the 2012 version.

• Addendum di, which prohibits the use of fossil fuels and electricity for humidification above 30-percent RH and dehumidification to 60-percent RH, except under special circumstances. 

• Addendum dj, which offers an increase in electrical/mechanical rooms to provide needed vertical and horizontal illuminance.

• Addendum dk, which eliminates the exemption for wattage used in spaces where lighting is designed for those with age- or medical-condition-related eye issues.

• Addendum dl, which corrects the calculation of hotel- and motel-type guestroom spaces.

• Addendum dn, which revises requirements for hot-gas bypass as defined in Section 6.5.9 and Table 6.5.9.

• Addendum do, which updates referenced standards in various provisions covering mechanical systems.

Open for public review through April 28 is:

• Addendum cv, which develops baseline energy-use guidance for public assembly spaces.

Three addenda that received public comments in earlier reviews were revised and are open for public comments through May 6. They are:

• Addendum ac, which provides two compliance paths with regard to utilizing air spaces in conjunction with reflective surfaces.

• Addendum bm, which makes the baseline building in Appendix G equivalent to Standard 90.1-2004 for interior lighting design.

• Addendum cl, which modifies integrated-energy-efficiency-ratio requirements for air-cooled air conditioners and air-cooled heat pumps.

For more information and to comment, click here.

About the Author

Scott Arnold | Executive Editor

Described by a colleague as "a cyborg ... requir(ing) virtually no sleep, no time off, and bland nourishment that can be consumed while at his desk" who was sent "back from the future not to terminate anyone, but with the prime directive 'to edit dry technical copy' in order to save the world at a later date," Scott Arnold joined the editorial staff of HPAC Engineering in 1999. Prior to that, he worked as an editor for daily newspapers and a specialty-publications company. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Kent State University.