Sustainable Building Technical Manual - Etn-presco.net

Building StandardsEnvironmental concerns are becoming increasingly important elements in the developmentof standards. Several building-oriented standard-setting activities and developmentsare discussed below.American Society for Testing and Materials—Green BuildingStandard ActivitiesThe American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is a voluntary, consensus-basedstandard-setting organization. Its membership includes approximately 30,000 technicalprofessionals from the public and private sectors. In 1992, ASTM’s Green BuildingSubcommittee, E-50.06, was formed. The subcommittee is working on green building-orientedstandards for both commercial and residential buildings and operations. Some ofthe ASTM standards under development are listed in Figure 2. 8American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-ConditioningEngineers StandardsThe American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers(ASHRAE) is a technical society of engineers and other parties. It conducts research andtechnical programs and develops standards. ASHRAE has several green building-orientedstandards that are referenced throughout this manual. Figure 3 includes a brief discussionof several standards that are being revised. 9The Construction Specifications InstituteThe Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) is a membership organization of technicalspecifiers and manufacturers’ representatives that provides guidance on specificationsand other technical matters. 1 0 CSI has begun to include environmental issues in itsprograms and services. One of its projects is the preparation of a guide for incorporatingenvironmental concerns into contract documents. The guide, when complete, will focuson environmental terminology, research and development (with regard to manufacturers’product information), design and construction, and project evaluation (includingoperations and maintenance and monitoring). CSI is also expanding its standard Spec-Data sheet of manufacturers’ product information to include environmental criteria.(See Chapter 17, “Specifications,” for more discussion on environmentally orientedspecification format.)Illuminating Engineering SocietyThe Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) of North America is a technical membershipsociety of lighting design and provider professionals, that provides standards for lightingsystems within the building industry. 1 1 It is co-sponsor of standards with ASHRAE, such as90.1-1989 (Energy-Efficient Design of New Buildings). IES is working on new standards forbetter lighting quality, as well as working on upgrading the lighting and power sectionsaddressed in the new ASHRAE 90.1 standard. Credits will be given for lighting controlsand daylighting; the measures will be performance-based (see Chapter 9, “Daylighting”).Design ToolsThe U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), in cooperation with industry groups, has developedcomputer-based tools for building design as well as research. The tools are used bydesigners, builders, professionals, utilities, and government to analyze buildings andbuilding systems and their inter-relationships, and to compare alternatives. The designtools model the building envelope dynamics required for passive solar strategies, daylighting,HVAC, and lighting, based on occupancy requirements. The tools enable predic-