Nine million tons of carbon dioxide. $600 million in energy costs: that’s the potential savings represented by 100,000 copies in the Advanced Energy Design Guide series now in circulation. More than 88,000 of the publications have been obtained via free download since January 2008.
The series includes publications on small retail and small office buildings, K-12 school buildings, and warehouses and self-storage units. The books provide guidance on how to achieve 30% energy savings over building code minimums based on ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999.
Calculations show that if every guide downloaded resulted in a single building designed to save 30% beyond code minimum, the estimated energy and carbon savings would be 52 trillion btus and 9 million tons of carbon dioxide. With an average cost of electricity of 5¢ per kwh and gas at $7 per mmbtu, the estimated cost of energy savings is over $600 million.
The guides are developed by ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and the U.S. Green Building Council, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy.
“ASHRAE is committed to energy optimization and producing guidance that will help move the building industry toward market-viable net-zero energy and carbon neutral buildings,” ASHRAE President Kent Peterson, P.E., said. “The call for these high performing buildings is transforming our industry, and the guidance in the Advanced Energy Design Guide series is useable technology guidance to help owners, architects, and engineers in accomplishing high-performing buildings.”
“This is proof positive that there are substantial economic benefits to green building strategies,” said AIA President Marshall E. Purnell, FAIA. “Hopefully this will help convince skeptics of the value and payback of green building design and that practitioners will take advantage of this excellent resource so that we can move closer to reaching our shared goal of carbon neutral buildings by 2030.”
Upcoming publications in the series include 30% guidance books for highway lodging, existing buildings, and small health care facilities.
