October 20th 2021

IESVE for ASHRAE 90.1-2016 Compliance

IESVE for ASHRAE 90.1-2016 Compliance

According to the US Building Energy Codes Program at the time of writing this article, there are over 15 states and many other AHJs whose energy code requires compliance with the ASHRAE 90.1-2016 Standard for non-residential buildings. Using the IESVE ASHRAE 90.1 Navigator, one can now quickly implement a compliance simulation for that state or local jurisdiction. At minimum, one can also quickly obtain relevant and accurate data from a 3D analytical model for the proposed building design.


IESVE has a history of supporting ASHRAE 90.1 compliance model requirements within the software package via the IESVE ASHRAE 90.1 Navigator for workflow efficiency by automating the generation of the ASHRAE baseline model and automating the comparison as defined in the 90.1 Standard. One significant feature that has been implemented in the ASHRAE 90.1-2016 Standard is that the Performance Rating Method (PRM) can now be used for compliance. This is accomplished is via the Performance Cost Index (PCI) metric. The PCI is the quotient of the proposed design energy cost and baseline building energy cost with the goal to have the PCI as close to zero as possible for energy efficient and low carbon building design. Please note that the baseline is nearly identical to the ASHRAE 90.1-2004 Baseline model; this is also auto-generated from the IESVE ASHRAE 90.1 Navigator. Thus, keeping the baseline fixed while improving the target Performance Cost Index (PCIt) for future standards is the intention for future code compliance.

 

The PCIt is a function of modeled energy costs and Building Performance Factors (BPFs), and this value is auto-calculated and the compliance report is auto-generated in PDF format.


The IESVE ASHRAE 90.1 Navigator can also generate other output reports after running the proposed and baseline simulations. The 90.1-2016 Navigator can also be used for LEED v4.1 and other regional energy codes such as IECC-2018 compliance.


For a complete video tutorial of the compliance modeling process in IESVE with the example model and supporting documents, please visit the IESVE for ASHRAE 90.1-2016 Compliance Upskill with IES Video. There will also be an in-person IESVE 90.1-2016 Compliance Pre Conference Workshop at the 2021 ASHRAE Building Performance Analysis Conference on November 9th, 2021 in Denver, Colorado.