Improving Building Energy Efficiency:
Adoption, Enforcement, and Compliance with
Energy Standards and Codes
August 4, 2011
Minjoo Lee
ASHRAE Summer Fellow
Bucknell University ‘12
Commercial Building Facts
68% of nation’s electricity
 39% of total energy consumption
 12% of water usage
 38% of CO2 emission
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http://www.dep.state.fl.us/central/Home/DrinkingWater/
http://amazinggirlz.com/articles/the-invention-of-electricity/
http://www.dezeen.com/2009/02/19/westerdok-apartment-building-by-mvrdv/
Why the focus on building energy efficiency?
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Lower energy bills for consumers
Creates jobs
Better working environment
Raises the value of property
Less GHG
Limited supply of natural gas and coal
“When it comes to saving money
and growing our economy, energy
efficiency isn't just low hanging fruit;
it's fruit laying on the ground.”
- Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu
http://casa-diseno-blog.com/category/decorating-ideas/sustainable-eco-design/
http://speedlaces.wordpress.com/2011/02/07/the-money-tree/
Most Cost-Effective Method of
Achieving Energy Efficiency:
Standards & Codes
Adopting, enforcing, and complying with existing standards and codes is
the cheapest and the most effective way to make buildings energy efficient
Adoption
Enforcement
Compliance
http://www.themiamilaw.com/
http://www.clipsahoy.com/occupations/police/police7.htm
http://tallyhypnosis.com/?attachment_id=184
Standards & Codes
Standard:
 Voluntary until
adopted into a code
 More general and has
more purposes in
terms of use
 ASHRAE develops
standards, not codes
http://www.ashrae.org/technology/page/548
http://www.lasergrade.com/sbc.shtml
Code:
 Only one purpose – to
be adopted into law
 ICC develops codes
Who is involved?
History of Energy Policies
National
Energy
Conservation
Policy Act
(NECPA) , 1978
Energy Policy
Act of 1992
http://www.city-data.com/articles/U-S-Capitol-Capitol-Hill-Washington-D-C.html
Energy Policy
Act of 2005
American
Recovery and
Reinvestment
Act (ARRA),
2009
Energy Code Status Within the U.S.
Main Concerns in Achieving Energy Efficiency
Out-of-Date Data
 Commercial Building Energy Consumption
Survey (CBECS)
 Conducted by the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) of DOE since 1979
 Currently using 2003 data because 2007
CBECS was invalid; not enough funds for 2011
CBECS
Building Rating Systems
 Cause confusion in the market
 US Green Building Council: Leadership in Energy
and Environment Development (LEED)
 Green Building Initiative: Green Globes certification
http://www.crownci.com/drupal7/?q=content/customers
http://harrisconstruction.com/leed.html
http://www.rapidchange.com/Home/RapidReport/RAPIDREPORTMay2009/RAPIDREPORTMarch2009/RapidReportArchive/QADec08/tabid/133/Defau
lt.aspx
Main Concerns…
Training for Code Officials
 Different between jurisdictions
 Inconsistent structure of training
Upfront Cost
 Misconception of high cost; not thinking about
payback
 Vancouver example: moderately highperformance building was 9% less expensive and
consumed less energy
No Statewide Energy Policy
 Up to state and local jurisdictions to adopt codes
 No urgency in energy savings
http://www.mpnj.com/mp_building_dept.asp
http://www.myrecipes.com/healthy-diet/eat-healthy-for-cheap-tips-10000001867714/
http://www.layoutsparks.com/1/122455/city-lights-building-skyscrapers.html
Recommendations
1) Target Commercial Buildings
Development of Standards & Codes
2) Up-to-Date Data Collection
3) Focus on Standards of Certain Building Subsystems
Adoption
4) Support a National Building Code
5) More Energy Disclosure Laws
Enforcement & Compliance
6) Revise Current Programs
7) Training for Code Officials
http://www.changeyourlifetips.com/articles/
1. Target Commercial
Buildings
 Best to first look at short term goals
rather than tackling both residential
and commercial
 Easier because it is more leveraged
and businesses can afford to be
involved
 More professionals involved in the
projects, more willing to follow codes
2. Up-to-Date Data
Collection
 Commercial Building Energy
Consumption Survey (CBECS):
o Need new data to use as
reference for current technology
o Energy Star, ASHRAE, and
other organizations use CBECS
to set benchmarks
o Need to continue CBECS;
more funding needed
o Relatively inexpensive: $4
million
3. Focus on Standards of Certain
Building Subsystems
 Important to have standards that address all
components BUT overwhelming to fix every element of
building at once => focus on certain standards, take
smaller steps
 Standards focused on lighting, heating and cooling
systems
 Lighting: 25%-50%
 Heating: 33%-50%
 Increase daylight
oDaylighting can help energy savings by
30%-80% annually
 Better insulation in walls, ceilings, basement, and
windows minimize heat loss
http://modernfurniturepics.com/living-room-designs/bathroom-with-big-window-and-outstanding-view-318
http://www.ingeniosus.net/archives/2010/02
4. Support a National Building Code
 Hard to establish building policies at federal level
because regulated locally
 Should be flexible enough to match different climates;
advancement in technology should make it easier today
Should not mandate methods but set minimum
benchmark, outcome is more important
Waxman-Markey Bill, 2009
o Included national building energy code
o Perceived as overly ambitious: 50% reduction in
energy consumption by 2014
Building should compare its performance to its own
past performance
5. More Energy Disclosure Laws
 Common in Europe and Australia
 Similar method to labeling appliances with
Energy Star
 Adopted in Washington, D.C., Austin, Texas,
New York City, San Francisco, and the state of
Washington – quickly gaining popularity
 Has created jobs in sustainability services firms
 Stimulate states to adopt energy codes
 Benefits:
1. More occupants, higher lease, higher sales
2. Competition in the marketplace
3. Influence building owners to retrofit their
building to have higher ratings compared to
competitors
http://www.njcleanenergy.com/residential/programs/energy-star-product-rebates/new-jersey-energy-star-product-rebates
6. Revise Current Programs
 PACE: Property Assessed Clean Energy
 Special type of property loan for retrofitting –
financing energy efficiency and renewable energy
projects; stays with property, not the owner
 Popular idea in the beginning
 Federal government provided over $150 million
in grant money to help originally
 Was intended for residential and commercial
 Lack of support from Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac discouraged many states
 Currently 4 active PACE programs and 9
programs in the design process
 Need to be revised to only address commercial
buildings
http://blog.harschrealestate.com/the-berkshires/you-have-decided-to-sell-your-berkshire-home-now-what/
7. Training for Code Officials
 Training needs to be more consistent and similar between jurisdictions
 Overall structure of the training should be similar
 Becomes easier for jurisdictions to figure out what training methods work or
what methods do not work when structure of training is similar
 Communication between jurisdictions can become more widespread in search
of better ways to make changes in the training
In-class education
by experienced
code official,
engineer, and
architect
On-site
mentorship
Written exams
Annual retraining
with workshops
provided by
organizations like
ASHRAE and ICC
In Summary…
 Following energy standards and codes is the
most cost-effective way to achieve high energy
efficiency of buildings
 Better for economy, create jobs
 To continue having comfortable lifestyle,
changes need to be made to reduce energy
consumption
 Quicker depletion of fossil fuel – limited supply
 Preemptive
http://imagesgellery.blogspot.com/2011/06/buildings-images.html
Questions?