Changes to Commissioning Requirements Proposed for Green Building Standard

ATLANTA, GA – December 14, 2016 –  Changes to the commissioning requirements in Standard 189.1 that would increase its ability to support achieving high performance green buildings are open for public input.

Published by ASHRAE, the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the International Code Council (ICC), ASHRAE/IES/USGBC/ICC Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High Performance Green Buildings, contains minimum requirements for the siting, design and construction of high performance green buildings in support of reducing building energy use, resource consumption and other environmental impacts, and maintaining acceptable indoor environments.

Eleven addenda to Standard 189.1 currently are out for public review. For more information or to submit a comment, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews

Proposed addendum aq updates the standard’s requirements for building systems commissioning. Committee chair Andrew Persily said the requirements are being changed for several reasons.

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“We want to update the standard to reflect experience gained in applying the existing requirements as well to keep current with trends and terminology in the evolving commissioning industry,” he said.

In addition to addendum aq, addenda ap and as are open for review until Dec. 19.

Addendum ap updates the normative references in Section 11 and the informative references in Appendix G, primarily to reflect the latest publication dates in referenced standards.

Addendum as updates the acoustical requirements based on new technical requirements as well as review of the International Green Construction Code, Acoustical Society of America documents, Facilities Guideline Institute healthcare guide and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED. The changes  include a requirement that room background noise levels be controlled by calculation instead of by prescribing several interrelated features, allowance of either a prescriptive or testing approach for building envelope and interior assemblies, requirements for mechanical equipment and noise to adjacent properties by equipment and addition of a new section on acoustical testing.

In addition, eight addenda are open for public comment until Dec. 4, 2016. They are:

• Addendum ae addresses plans for the treatment of waste materials originating from the development of a building project site.
• Addendum ag creates a new definition for plants that are suitable for inclusion in this standard.
• Addendum ah revises the lighting power density (LPD) requirements for exterior parking areas.
• Addendum ai adds requirements for testing, installation and commissioning of air curtains when they are installed in building entrances.
• Addendum aj revises the bi-level motion control requirements to better align with addendum as to ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2013, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.
• Addendum al modifies the provisions for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
• Addendum ak updates the standard’s life cycle assessment of buildings.
• Addendum am modifies the roof heat island mitigation section that was changed via addendum i.

About ASHRAE: ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its more than 56,000 members worldwide focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today. More information can be found at www.ashrae.org/news.