First of its kind collaboration designed to boost critical green building practices across the country Washington, D.C. — What do organizations representing building safety professionals, energy and lighting engineers, green building practitioners, architects and technical standards developers have in common?   They have all come together to green the nation's built environment by establishing a comprehensive model green building code designed to rapidly advance green building practice across the U.S.   The International Code Council (ICC), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North … Read more

ATLANTA, GA — Requirements to “lighten up” energy use and costs through fenestration, parking lot lighting and other proposed measures are being recommended for Standard 90.1. ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, provides minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design of buildings except low-rise residential buildings.   Currently, 15 proposed addenda to the standard are open for public review. “As the industry continues to call for buildings and systems that use less energy, the Standard 90.1 committee is striving to find ways to reduce energy uses and costs,” Mick Schwedler, chair of the Standard 90.1 committee, … Read more

ATLANTA, Ga. – The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers has appointed its first Building Energy Codes ASHRAE Fellow in partnership with the Department of Energy. The new Fellow, Mike Erbesfeld, will assist the DOE in assessing the impact of updating state energy codes to meet the 2010 version of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1. “The fellowship is valuable in that I get to bring my industry perspective to the federal government, where I can illustrate the obstacles and pitfalls on the path to net-zero-energy buildings, says Erbesfeld. “At the same time, this collaboration will hopefully ease the communication among … Read more

Designers of systems for a community center, a school, an office building and a governmental building are recognized by ASHRAE for incorporating elements of innovative building design. Recipients of the ASHRAE Technology Awards were recognized at the Society's 2009 Winter Conference being held this week in Chicago. The recipients have applied ASHRAE standards for effective energy management and indoor air quality. “ASHRAE Technology Awards are awarded for innovative HVAC&R designs that provide superior energy, economic, air quality and environmental performance through application of new technologies, new design concepts or by applying existing technologies in unusual ways,” Bert Phillips, chair of … Read more