ASHRAE 90.1 is a standard in the US that provides minimum requirements for energy-efficient designs for buildings except for low-rise residential buildings. The standard was first created in 1975. It has since been updated on a regular basis in 2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013.
There are two paths for compliance with ASHRAE 90.1, both the prescriptive path and performance path. The prescriptive path requires all building components to meet a minimum set of standards specified in ASHRAE 90.1. The Prescriptive path includes requirements for building envelope, HVAC, domestic hot water, power, lighting, and other equipment. The performance path shows compliance using a building modeling program to illustrate that the design uses less energy than the baseline building built to ASHRAE 90.1’s specifications.
Read more from our Green Term Defined series here:
Green Term Defined: Energy Audit
Green Term Defined: Vapor Barrier
Green Term Defined: Natural Ventilation
