Shaping the Energy Efficiency in New Buildings - Building Energy ...

safety. 25 By contrast, the BDCES specifically covers energy. For this reason, this reportfocuses primarily on the BDCES. Any references to the RBFCO in this report reflect the2008 version of the standard.2.7 The United StatesIn response to the 1973 energy crisis, the United States began developing energy codesand standards for buildings. The first standard developed was the ASHRAE Standard 90 -75 Energy Conservation in New Building Design, published in 1975. That same year, theUnited States Congress passed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. ASHRAE/IESStandard 90.1 was first mentioned in the national energy policy act, and it was suggestedthat it be established as an amended uniform national standard (Congress, 1975).The Energy Policy Act of 1992 had significant impacts on the development of buildingenergy codes. This law required the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to be activelyinvolved in the development and deployment of building energy codes and to collaborateclosely with states, local governments, and building code communities. DOE is alsoresponsible for determining if new versions of model energy codes save energy.ASHRAE Standard 90.1 serves as the basis for DOE’s formal determinations of energysavings for commercial buildings and high-rise multi-family residential buildings asmandated by the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 also listedthe Council of America Building Officials’ Model Energy Code of 1992 as the basis forthe DOE’s formal determinations of energy savings for low-rise residential buildings.Since then, building energy codes have attracted more coverage in national energylegislation. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 covered building energy codes in thesubsections of “Federal building performance standards” and “Energy-efficient publicbuildings.” 26 The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the most recent UnitedStates energy legislation, underscores the important role of building energy codes inbuilding energy efficiency in subtitles of “Residential Building Efficiency,” “High-Performance Commercial Buildings,” “High-Performance Federal Buildings,” and“Healthy High-Performance Schools.”In the United States, ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 is a model energy standard for thecommercial design community. IECC developed by the International Code Council (thesuccessor to the Council of America Building Officials’ Model Energy Code), is a modelcode for the code enforcement community for both residential and commercial buildings.Since 1975, the ASHRAE Standard 90 has been issued (under the names 90A and 90.1)in 1980, 1989, 1999, 2001, 2004 and most recently in 2007. Model energy codes wereissued in 1977, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1992, 1993 and 1995 by the Council of AmericaBuilding Officials and in 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006 and the forthcoming 2009 by the ICC.DOE is currently working with both IECC and ASHRAE to improve the residential andcommercial energy codes by 30%. DOE’s goal under this initiative is that by 2012 and2010 (respectively) new buildings would be 30% more efficient than buildings built25 Articles 21 and 22 of the RBFCO refer to the BDCES.26 The structure of the Energy Policy Act consists of a number of titles, which include a number of subtitles.A subtitle includes a number of subsections labeled as “Sec.”29