Proposed ASHRAE/ACCA Standard For Energy Audits Open For Public Comment
Media Contact:
Allen Haynes
404-446-1677
ahaynes@duffey.com
ATLANTA (Aug. 5, 2016) – A proposed joint standard from ASHRAE and ACCA establishes consistent practices for conducting and reporting energy audits is open for a 45-day American National Standards Institute (ANSI) public review.
ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 211P, Standard for Commercial Building Energy Audits, is open for public comment from Aug. 5 until Sept. 19, 2016. To comment or learn more, visit www.ashrae.org/publicreviews.
Standard 211P defines the procedures required to perform ASHRAE Level 1, 2 and 3 Energy Audits and provide a common scope of work for these audit levels for use by building owners and others as well as establish standardized industry practices and minimum reporting requirements for the results.
An initial Advisory Public Review (non-ANSI) of the standard that closed in December 2015 resulted in more than 600 comments from some 100 people. Changes made as a result of that review include:
- Expansion of scope to include multi-family residential buildings
- Modification of requirements for energy auditor qualifications
- Addition of specific guidance around the energy audit quality control process
- Improvement of reporting forms for usability
- Review of reporting formats for compatibility with BuildingSync, the DOE protocol for transmitting energy audit data with XML files
- Addition of optional input guidance to for compatibility with the DOE’s Asset Score rating approach for existing building assessments.
- Updated procedures guidance to be more audit customer-oriented and include measures for reasons beyond energy-savings benefits
- Refined guidance around Level 3 procedures
- Clarified actions for energy auditor vs what may be supervisedRemoval of energy efficiency measure recommendations appendix (these are found in ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 100-2006, Energy Conservation in Existing Buildings)
- Addition of guidance for Building Energy Model Calibration
- Edits based on reviewer comments to make the standard more usable, clear and effective.
ASHRAE first addressed audits in 2004 with its publication Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits (1st Ed), which introduced the concept of ASHRAE Level 1, 2 and 3 Energy Audits as a shorthand for designating the depth of an energy audit. That concept is now commonly used in the commercial building sector. In 2011, a second edition, which added guidelines for best practices in energy audits, was published.
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.
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