Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My name is Merle McBride. I am a Senior Research Associate with Owens Corning and was chair of the Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Retail buildings (AEDG-SR). It is a privilege to be here this morning. I am excited about ASHRAE’s push for energy efficiency and am proud to be a part of that movement.

As you know ASHRAE has long been a leader in the development of energy standards for commercial buildings, beginning with Standard 90 in 1975 This has evolved into today’s Standard 90.1, which sets the minimum energy performance required by code. However, ASHRAE’s new initiative is the development of guides that provide the information on how to do better than the minimum code. So far we have developed guides that achieve 30% energy savings relative to 90.1-1999 for small offices and retail buildings. Currently we are working on guides for schools (K-12) and warehouses. The plan is to develop guides that would achieve 50% and then 70% energy savings. Ultimately this would then lead to net zero energy buildings (NZEB). There are numerous advantages of net zero energy buildings, including:

Environmental benefits:

• Enhance and protect ecosystems and biodiversity
• Improve air and water quality
• Reduce solid waste
• Conserve natural resources

Economic benefits:

• Reduce operating costs
• Enhance asset value and profits
• Improve employee productivity and satisfaction
• Optimize life-cycle economic performance

Health and community benefits:

• Improve air, thermal and acoustic environments
• Enhance occupant comfort and health
• Minimize strain on local infrastructure
• Contribute to overall quality of life

There are multiple driving forces behind this initiative. The U.S. Green Building Council has its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The American Institute of Architects has its 2030 program and the Federal Government has the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which provides tax benefits. All of these programs improve building energy efficiency beyond the minimum code and further increase the sustainability of buildings. While these programs are commendable and certainly have their merits, ASHRAE wants to raise the energy bar even higher. In short, there is still work to be done.

A key feature of the guides is that ASHRAE is developing them in collaboration with partner organizations including the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This collaboration provides experts from the respective organizations to form the project committee that is responsible for developing the guide. This sort of collaboration ensures that the guides have the highest level of usability possible and that no stones are left unturned.

Following the guide for small office buildings, in November 2006 ASHRAE published the second guide, which was for small retail buildings less than 20,000 ft². The focus on small buildings is driven by the large number of these types of buildings that are constructed annually. We essentially wanted to target a market where the most impact could be made. Furthermore, there is little if any time or fees devoted to the analysis and design that would upgrade their energy efficiency above the minimum code criteria.

The guide provides recommendations for general lighting and three special recommendations for accent lighting: sporting goods and small electronics; furniture, clothing, cosmetics, and artwork; plus jewelry, crystal and china. A separate chapter provides the construction details on how to implement the design recommendations. The operating information also provides the building owners with the details related to commissioning.

All of the information is based on existing, practical, off-the-shelf technologies that are commercially available from at least two manufacturers. This ensures the recommendations are easily achieved. To instill confidence that the information contained in the guide is realistic there are technology examples and case studies presented that showcase some of the various features. This is the real value of the AEDG’s- they provide real ways for real people to meet energy efficiency goals and to pave the way to net-zero energy usage.

The guides are now available from ASHRAE, and we hope to publish the next guide by fall of this year. These guides represent a small but important step toward ASHRAE’s goal of improving the efficiency of the nation’s building stock.

Thank you for your attention. I look forward to any questions.