by Rebecca Walker — July 3, 2009—The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), has unveiled new details about its building energy labeling program, including a prototype label design.
With building energy disclosure laws moving forward in several cities, the labeling program would require property owners to document the energy characteristics of their buildings and package that data into a label, energy certificate and technical documents.
It grades energy efficiency on a color-coded letter scale from “A+” to “F,” with the highest grade reserved for net-zero energy buildings. Buildings that have earned the government’s Energy Star label, which signifies the top quartile of energy-efficient buildings, would earn at least a “B.”
The label does not contain greenhouse gas emissions disclosure, as does the U.K.’s label, although it would display the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification and the U.S. Government’s ENERGY STAR label for applicable buildings. Some documents would provide technical details on building systems and energy usage for engineers and building operations personnel.
Attaining the label will require building systems commissioning and a site visit by an energy assessor to verify performance for the operational rating, while the asset rating requires energy modeling. ASHRAE’s label will help building owners differentiate their product in a technically sound manner while providing tenants with the tools they need to select energy-efficient spaces,” he said.
For more information, see the ASHRAE Web site.
