May 23, 2012: Proposed Changes to Energy Standard for Existing Buildings Open for Public Comment
ATLANTA — Public input is being sought on revisions to ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 100-2006, Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings. Last year, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA) announced they were revising Standard 100-2006 to provide greater guidance and a more comprehensive approach to the retrofit of existing buildings for increased energy efficiency. The standard was first published in 1981, and the associations noted that the need for its requirements has grown as more attention is paid to improving efficiency in the current building stock.
“Information from the International Energy Agency shows that the building sector is the largest consumer of energy in the United States, using some 40.3 quadrillion Btus of energy in 2002, around 41 percent of total U.S. energy use,” said Rick Hermans, chair of the committee writing the standard. “Compliance with this standard by every building would reduce that energy use by three quarters.”