ASHRAE launches pilot program for energy label

ASHRAE's Building EQ program addresses "As Desgined" (new) and "In Operation" (existing) buildings of all types except residential.

By Michael Ivanovich, editor-in-chief, source: ASHRAE December 9, 2009

                  ASHRAE officially kicked off its Building Energy Quotient program , or BuildingEQ (www.buildingeq.com), to provide a detailed certificate having data on actual energy use,energy demand profiles, IAQ, and other information thatwill enable building owners to evaluate and reduce their building’senergy use.

                  Building EQ labels can be applied for both As Designed (asset) and In Operation (asoperated) ratings for all building types, except residential.

                  The program is administered by the American Society ofHeating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), which is based in Atlanta.

                  In an ASHRAE press release , Gordon Holness, ASHRAE president said,rmance." Holness noted that building energy use disclosure is already mandatory in California; Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas; Washington State; the European Union; and Australia.

                  Those participating in the pilot program are linclude::

                  • The Durst Organization, the owner, manager and builder of 9 million square feet of mid-town Manhattan office and residential properties, will include 4 Times Square, 1155 Avenue of the Americas and One Bryant Park in New York City.
                  • The U.S. General Services Administration, the primary agency responsible for the acquisition and management of federal buildings owns or leases 8,600 properties and maintains an inventory of more than 354 million square feet of workspace for 1.1 million federal employees.
                  • Wright Runstad and Co. develops, acquires, manages and leases high-quality commercial office buildings located primarily in the Pacific Northwest, headquartered in Seattle, Wash.
                  • Ashforth Pacific, Portland, Ore., a diversified real estate firm that owns, develops and invests in assets and provides third-party services, including assets and property management, general contracting and construction management.
                  • BNIM Architects, a leader of a new generation of design firms headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., will include The Omega Center for Sustainable Living in Rhinebeck, N.Y.; the Internal Revenue Service, Kansas City Campus, Kansas City, Mo.; and the Fayez S. Sarofin Research Building, home of the Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases, the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, in the pilot.
                  • Hines, a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide headquartered in London and Houston, Texas, will place high-profile properties from five major U.S. market in the pilot.
                  • The Detroit-Wayne Joint Building Authority will include the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, which is home of six branches of city and county government including Circuit and Probate Courts, City and County Clerks and the Executive and Legislative branches of the City of Detroit, in the pilot.
                  • The Michigan Department of Management and Budget, which acquires and manages properties for many of the state’s agencies.
                  • Russell Development Co., which has produced significant commercial buildings in downtown Portland, Ore., will include 200 Market Building in the pilot.

                  Through the pilot program, the Building EQ program will allow fine-tuning and final development of the program. In parallel with this effort, ASHRAE has developed a certification program for building energy modelers. Following completion of the pilot program in mid-June, the program is expected to be fully functional by the end of 2010.