Filed under: Green Building | Tags: ASHRAE, EPA, Green Building, Standards
Despite the economic slowdown, EPA reports continued significant growth in the number of commercial buildings achieving ENERGY STAR status. In 2010, more than 6,200 commercial buildings earned ENERGY STAR status, an increase of nearly 60% over the ENERGY STAR awards issued in 2009. The cities leading in the number of ENERGY STAR buildings are located through the United States, and include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, New York, and Washington, D.C. Commercial buildings that earn this distinction must achieve energy efficiency performance in the top 25% of buildings nationwide in their class, and are estimated by EPA to use 25% less energy than average buildings.
Buildings in a number of categories may achieve ENERGY STAR recognition including, among others, schools K-12, retail stores, financial institutions, data centers, medical offices, houses of worship, low-rise units in low-rise multi-family buildings, and single-family homes. As of the end of August, EPA has expanded this list to include, for the first time, new and substantially rehabilitated multifamily high-rise residence buildings. To earn the ENERGY STAR, multifamily high-rises must have an independent engineer or architect conduct testing and inspection during construction and certify that the building meets energy-efficiency guidelines set by EPA, and is designed to exceed by at least 15% the energy-efficiency standards set by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
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Thanks for the update. As additional code mandates come into effect in NYC, Washington DC, Seattle and Austin I think this is merely the tip of the ice berg. More disclosure of energy efficiency will benefit the consumer and allow for more transparent decision making.
Comment by Brad A. Molotsky September 14, 2011 @ 7:24 AM