March 10, 2010

Society aiming for net zero energy for all new builds by 2030

JESSICA KRIPPENDORF

correspondent

VANCOUVER

North American builders going for glamour in new construction might be missing out on lucrative green building opportunities, said Gordon Holness, president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

In a series of Canadian talks that wrapped up earlier this year, he said that new builds only account for two per cent of construction activity and 12 per cent of construction dollars spent.

“This year I want to concentrate on the other 98 per cent,” he said.

In his presentations, themed Energy Efficiency in Existing Buildings is our Greatest Opportunity for a Sustainable Future, Holness presented a six-point plan that outlines strategies for existing buildings.

It would bring ASHRAE closer to its ultimate goal: net zero energy for all new builds by 2030.

“One hundred and fifty billion square feet of commercial buildings will need to be renovated over the next 30 years and 75 to 85 per cent of all of the buildings that will exist in urban areas in 2030 exist today,” said Holness.

“You have to look at taking energy out of existing buildings before you can make a real difference with new construction.”

Holness cited the McKingsley Report, which indicates that if the U.S. were to spend $170 billion on the retrofit of existing buildings it would save, on average, 23 percent of all building energy use and get a 17 percent return on investment.

The first move forward for ASHRAE was the release of Standard 189.1, Standard for the design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, which sets the bar at 15 percent higher efficiency than Standard 90.1.

The standard, which also covers technical aspects of retrofitting, received publication approval in December.

ASHRAE partnered with the USGBC in the development of 189.1, meaning the energy requirement in the next generation of LEED will refer to 189.1 as a baseline and ask building owners to exceed it in order to achieve points.

The aim was to publish Standard 189.1 in 2009 to provide guidance in the development of high-efficiency buildings, while developing the next version so as to stay ahead of 90.1.

“It may be necessary to consider two tiers of energy requirements within the standard — one aimed at minimum compliance levels to maximize market acceptance and transformation, and the other an aggressive high-performance level,” said Holness.

The release of the new baseline Standard 90.1 and completion of ASHRAE’s Advanced Energy Design Guides (AEDG) series are next.

Standard 90.1-2010, set for release this summer, is intended for adoption as a minimum compliance standard. It includes a 30 percent reduction in energy over 90.1-2004.

The goal for future versions of the standard include a target of average energy usages based on building types.

The AEDG series provides fundamental guidance for a 30 per cent energy efficiency improvement over 90.1 using practical, cost-effective, off-the-shelf technologies.

Five of the guides have been published already, with the final in the initial series set for release this year.

A three-part Advanced Energy Efficiency Guides, Existing Building Guide series, is also in the works and will address the business case for sustainable retrofits, technologies for ideal improvements, and operations and maintenance, respectively.

The society will complete the net zero energy AEDG series guides in 2013-2015.

Holness also recommended the resurrection and redesign of Standard 100, Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings, which sets forth the process, procedure, and guidance for developing major retrofit programs.

“It should include energy modelling and load simulation (using EnergyPlus or eQuest) to determine current energy use that can be reconciled with metered data,” he said.

While Standards 90.1 and 189.1 cover the technical aspects of green retrofits, Standard 100 provides guidance about how to develop energy conservation measures, how to analyse existing building operations, and how to look at the return on investment for alternative approaches.

“The quality of the building stock is not improved by green buildings that don’t operate efficiently,” said Holness, adding that buildings typically deteriorate in performance by as much as 30 percent in the first three to four years.

Retrocommissioning of an existing building can save 10 to 40 per cent just by improving operational strategies.

The 20 to 50 per cent per square foot cost can be recovered in less than a year.

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