ASHRAE 189.1-2020 – Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings

From site location to energy use to recycling, this standard sets the foundation for green buildings by addressing site sustainability, water use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality (IEQ), and the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials, and resources. Standard 189.1 comprises the complete technical content of the International Green Construction Code® (IgCC). The standard provides minimum requirements for siting, design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings to (1) balance environmental responsibility, resource efficiency, occupant comfort and well-being, and community sensitivity, and (2) support the goal of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This standard provides minimum criteria that apply to new buildings and their systems, new portions of buildings and their systems, and new systems and equipment in existing buildings. The provisions of this standard do not apply to single-family houses, multi-family structures of three stories or fewer above grade, manufactured houses (mobile homes), and manufactured houses (modular), or buildings that use none of the following: electricity, fossil fuel, or water.

Highlights in the 2020 edition include:

Compliance. ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 189.3, Design, Construction, and Operation of Sustainable High-Performance Health Care Facilities, has been added as a compliance path for qualifying building projects.

General. A new table of jurisdictional options has been added to help guide jurisdictions through their options for adopting the IgCC. A new informative Appendix L also provides a list of requirements that align with LEED prerequisites or are aligned with LEED credits that are attained by a large percentage of projects.

Site Sustainability (Section 5) requirements for outdoor lighting, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and cool roofs were updated.

Water Use Efficiency (Section 6) was modified, with new requirements for piping in hot water distribution systems and modifications to the existing cooling towers requirements.

Energy Efficiency (Section 7) was updated to maintain consistency with ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1. New metrics for evaluating equipment efficiency, the Fan Efficiency Index (FEI) and Pump Efficiency Index (PEI), were introduced. Various requirements were enhanced within this section, including dwelling unit lighting controls, renewable energy (with cases in which PV systems are required), fault detection and diagnostics (FDD), traction elevators, high-capacity service water heating systems, and occupancy sensor-based controls.

Energy Efficiency (Performance Approach, Section 7.5) has been greatly expanded in terms of renewable energy requirements and the resources available to help determine compliance, including a new informative appendix to assist in calculating source energy and CO2e emission factors based on local data.

Indoor Environmental Quality (Section 8) provisions were strengthened. Requirements related to paints and coatings, as well as composite wood materials, are now more focused on limiting VOC and formaldehyde emissions into the space. New requirements to prevent ozone emissions from air cleaning devices have been added. Lighting quality and view requirements have also been strengthened.

Materials and Resources (Section 9) was updated, notably the total waste provisions for new construction.

Construction and plans for operation (Section 10) was reorganized for clarity, ease of compliance, and alignment with related standards.