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Written by Andrew C. Burr (aburr@costar.com)

June 24, 2009

ASHRAEUnveilsDesignofNewBuildingEnergyLabel

News: National

TheASHRAELabel,OfficiallyDueOutNextYear,BorrowsManyTraitsfromitsEuropeanForerunner

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) this weekunveiled a flurry of new details about its building energy labeling program, including a prototype labeldesign.A select group of building stakeholders will begin testing the program, called Building Energy Quotient(BEQ), this fall ahead of a public release expected sometime next year, ASHRAE said on Monday during itsannual conference. (See the building energy label.) The organization said it could not yet release thenames of the pilot participants. “As the United States looks to reduce its energy use, information is the critical first step in making thenecessary choices and changes,” Bill Harrison, the immediate past president of ASHRAE, said in astatement.With building energy disclosure laws moving forward in several cities, the labeling program “couldn’t bebetter-timed,” he said.ASHRAE, the mechanical engineering association with 55,000 members, began developing the programlast year. It would require property owners to document the energy characteristics of their buildings andpackage that data into a label, energy certificate and technical documents.The energy label is the program’s most visible component, although until recently, what exactly it wouldlook like was not known.But as many expected, the prototype borrows heavily from the U.K.’s Display Energy Certificate, anenergy label that is required for some buildings in England and Wales. Unveiled Saturday by Harrison, itgrades energy efficiency on a color-coded letter scale from “A+” to “F”, with the highest grade reservedfor net-zero energy buildings.The energy use of a typical U.S. commercial building compared to others of the same property type wouldscore in the “C” to “D” range, according to ASHRAE documents. Buildings that have earned thegovernment’s Energy Star label, which signifies the top quartile of energy-efficient buildings, would earnat least a “B”. Complying with California’s Title 24 energy requirements would net at least an “A-”.The two main components of the label are an asset rating, which is based on energy models andrepresents the building’s designed efficiency, and an operational rating based on actual performance. Theratings would ideally appear on the label side-by-side, although the operational rating requires 12 monthsof utility bills, which would disqualify newer buildings.Building energy label proponents have said that seeing both grades could help property owners easilyidentify buildings that are operating less efficiently, and costing more money, than they should.The minimalist appearance of the label was designed with public display in mind, according to a reportpublished this month by ASHRAE’s label implementation committee. The label does not includegreenhouse gas emissions disclosure, as does the U.K.’s label, although it would display the U.S. GreenBuilding Council’s LEED certification and the U.S. Government’s ENERGY STAR label for applicable