by Brianna Crandall — July 11, 2014—Under amended legislation recently signed, the building energy rating and labeling program known as Building Energy Quotient (bEQ) from global building technology society ASHRAE now qualifies as an energy rating option for buildings in the state of Florida, setting the pace for other state programs.
Florida Governor Rick Scott signed House Bill 7147, which qualifies the bEQ program as an approved system, on June 13. The provisions in the bill amend a 2013 Florida law specifying requirements for energy ratings for all residential, commercial and state-owned buildings.
“ASHRAE commends the state of Florida for recognizing the importance of requiring collection of the information necessary for making informed decisions about the energy use of buildings where we live, work and play,” ASHRAE President Bill Bahnfleth said. “The ultimate goal of the bEQ program is to promote more energy-efficient buildings and give owners more control over rising energy costs, Understanding a building’s energy use characteristics is the critical first step in identifying and implementing measures that will economically and responsibly reduce energy use and costs.”
ASHRAE explains that the organization felt interpretations of the original 2013 law were incorrect, raising questions about how a person or company becomes qualified or approved to provide this rating. In recent months, ASHRAE worked on an amendment to better define what constitutes an approved building energy efficiency rating system. Under the change, the bEQ program qualifies as an approved system. The bill became effective July 1, 2014.
ASHRAE’s Building Energy Quotient (bEQ) is a building energy rating and labeling program, offering two labels: an As Designed label that rates the building design’s potential energy use under standardized conditions—independent of the building’s occupancy and usage—and an In Operation label that rates the building’s actual measured metered energy use as influenced by the building’s occupancy, operation and usage.
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 50,000 members worldwide focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE’s goal is to shape tomorrow’s built environment today.
