DOE to Update Commercial-Building Reference Standard to 90.1-2013?

May 20, 2014
The DOE preliminarily determined building to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2013 would result in source-energy savings of 8.5% and site-energy savings of 7.6%.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently took the first step toward updating the commercial-building reference standard for state building energy codes from the 2010 edition of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, to the 2013 edition.

As announced in the May 13 edition of the Federal Register, the DOE preliminarily determined that building to the 2013 edition would result in national source-energy savings of approximately 8.5 percent and site-energy savings of approximately 7.6 percent over building to the 2010 edition. If this preliminary determination is finalized, states would be required to update their codes to meet or exceed Standard 90.1–2013.

The DOE attributes the greater energy savings to improvements in the standard related to lighting, fans, commercial refrigeration, boilers, and controls.

The DOE is accepting public comments on the preliminary determination, with feedback requested by June 16, 2014. To submit a formal comment, go to https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/05/15/2014-11218/preliminary-determination-regarding-energy-efficiency-improvements-in-ansiashraeies-standard.

For more information, go to http://www.energycodes.gov/regulations/determinations.

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.