ASHRAE Publishes New Standard for Commercial Building Energy Audits
The newly released ASHRAE Standard 211-2018 for Commercial Building Energy Audits establishes consistent practices for conducting and reporting energy audits for commercial buildings. It also defines the procedures required to perform ASHRAE Level 1, 2, and 3 energy audits, provides a common scope of work for those audit levels for use by building owners and others, and establishes standardized industry practices and minimum reporting requirements for results.
The standard was approved by ASHRAE on April 30, 2018. It was also approved/adopted by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) on April 5, 2018 and by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on May 1, 2018.
A recent LinkedIn article by Jim Kelsey, president of kW Engineering, and chairman of the 211 standard committee, gives a great overview of the features of the new standard and a comparison to the former “best practices” document (also from ASHRAE) titled Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits, aka “the green book.”
The new standard also defines a “qualified energy auditor” as an energy solutions professional who assesses building systems and site conditions; analyzes and evaluates equipment and energy use; and recommends strategies to optimize building resource use. including any person that holds a certification from a credentialing program approved by the U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines (BBWG) for Building Energy Auditors or Energy Managers.
The Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) Certified Energy Manager (CEM) and Certified Energy Auditor (CEA) certifications meet this criteria. The Energy Management Professional (EMP) from Energy Management Association (EMA) also qualifies.
Aeroseal LLC also offers ASHRAE Level 1, 2 and 3 audits specific to duct leakage, which is the number one energy waster in commercial buildings ($2.9 Billion annually). Click here if you have a project for which you would like Aeroseal to perform a Level 1 Energy Audit. Simply fill out the web form, or send us an email, and our National Account Sales Manager April Frakes will contact you directly.