by Shane Henson — June 8, 2011—The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has proposed guidelines to help improve the performance of all buildings by providing guidance on optimizing operation and maintenance of buildings to achieve the lowest economic and environmental life cycle cost without sacrificing safety or functionality. ASHRAE Guideline 32P, Sustainable, High Performance Operation and Maintenance, is open for public comment until July 4, 2011.
The guideline will apply to the ongoing operational practices for buildings and systems with respect to energy efficiency, occupant comfort, indoor air quality, health and safety. These systems include the building envelope, HVAC&R, plumbing, complementary energy systems, and utilities and electrical systems.
The guideline contains recommendations for three levels of building oversight: senior managers, facilities managers and technicians. Checklists for tracking that appropriate steps are being taken to move toward high-performance operation and maintenance are included for each.
