Description

Multifamily buildings represent a major opportunity to advance the goals of improved building energy performance and better indoor air quality. ACEEE estimates that there are $3.4 Billion per year in cost effective energy savings in the multifamily sector. But the energy performance of multifamily buildings has been relatively neglected in the broader industry push for high performance buildings, and many strategies for reducing energy use in this sector remain under-represented in new construction. Likewise, indoor environmental quality – especially indoor air quality – and ventilation strategies from other building sectors have not always translated well to multifamily buildings even as IEQ concerns in the multifamily market have grown.In response to these needs and a booming multifamily market, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) launched a project to develop a new ASHRAE Multifamily Guide to begin to address this critical need for better information to support better practice in the design and operation of multifamily buildings. Unlike ASHRAE’s Standards, this guide is not meant to provide minimum requirements for multifamily buildings, but rather to provide best practices to maximize the quality, performance and effectiveness of existing practices while simultaneously enabling and empowering practitioners to pursue the best and highest performance options. This two-part paper will introduce readers to the ASHRAE Multifamily Guide and discuss the background behind its creation from the perspective ofboth the ASHRAE committee that oversaw its genesis and the team selected to create it. The first part will give the background for the project’s creation from the perspective of the Chair of ASHRAE’s Residential Building Committee. The second part will give the perspective of the project team and will discuss the subjects covered, how the content was structured to address the intended audience and how the more challenging subjects were handled.

Citation: Thermal Buildings XIV 2019

Product Details

Published:

2019

Number of Pages:

9

Units of Measure:

Dual

File Size:

1 file , 690 KB

Product Code(s):

D-Bldgs19-042