Constructing HVAC systems according to standards such as ASHRAE 55-2010 are counterproductive to the goal of building energy efficient, comfortable spaces, argue the authors of this article.
The ASHRAE standard for office buildings incorporates a decades-old formula based on the metabolic rates of the average man working at a desk. Updating such standards, which many designers rely upon, would go a long way towards improving sustainability and meeting President Obama’s challenge to limit carbon emissions, the authors say.
Currently, the standard encourages the use of equipment that is much bigger than needed with over-cooled spaces resulting. “Defaults such as these make future efficiency improvements harder to achieve because once a building is built, we are stuck with the design for decades, at least,” the authors write.
“Thinking about building design and efficiency in comparison to the highest performance or current industry standards, rather than just the average, could elevate new standards. The goal is that when quick decisions are made, those decisions tip toward a more efficient outcome—and fewer wool jackets in the summer.”
ASHRAE has responded to the HVAC study.
Related Stories
| Oct 12, 2010
Cell and Genome Sciences Building, Farmington, Conn.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Administrators at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington didn’t think much of the 1970s building they planned to turn into the school’s Cell and Genome Sciences Building. It’s not that the former toxicology research facility was in such terrible shape, but the 117,800-sf structure had almost no windows and its interior was dark and chopped up.
| Oct 12, 2010
Full Steam Ahead for Sustainable Power Plant
An innovative restoration turns a historic but inoperable coal-burning steam plant into a modern, energy-efficient marvel at Duke University.
| Oct 8, 2010
Union Bank’S San Diego HQ awarded LEED Gold
Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building located at 530 B Street has been awarded LEED Gold certification from the Green Building Certification Institute under the standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gold status was awarded to six buildings across the United States in the most recent certification and Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building is one of only two in California.
| Sep 16, 2010
Green recreation/wellness center targets physical, environmental health
The 151,000-sf recreation and wellness center at California State University’s Sacramento campus, called the WELL (for “wellness, education, leisure, lifestyle”), has a fitness center, café, indoor track, gymnasium, racquetball courts, educational and counseling space, the largest rock climbing wall in the CSU system.
