Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
sometimes also referred to as energy code, are basically what all the designers shall
follow to be able to achieve building energy effi ciency compliance evaluation
throughout the USA (Khazaii
2012
).
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is an internationally
recognized green building certifi cation system, which as a third party verifi es
whether a building is designed and built using proper green and sustainable strate-
gies. This scoring system defi nes provisions for improvement of most aspects of the
whole building such as energy saving and CO
2
emission. LEED organization was
established in 1993. From 1994 to 2014, LEED grew from one standard for new
construction to a comprehensive system of multiple guidelines targeting improve-
ment of the site and building development and construction process.
Another sustainability system, the Green Building Initiative (GBI), established
in 2005, and its target was to ensure that all buildings, regardless of size, type or
budget, are built and managed in an environmentally-friendly manner.
In 2009 and in order to create a labeling system for the different buildings
ASHRAE members started working on a labeling program that was fully lunched in
2011. The target of this program is to provide the design and construction commu-
nity with information on the potential and actual (measured) energy use of build-
ings. The ASHRAE Advanced Building Energy Labeling (ABEL) program is based
on the Building Energy Quotient (bEQ) label, together with a supporting certifi cate.
The label is pertinent for existing buildings, using the As Operated (Operational)
Rating, and for new buildings using the As Designed (Asset) Rating. The ratings are
planned to support regulatory energy use requirements. bEQ Scales the buildings
from site and source energy, on-site renewable sources and emission stand points
and provides a grade between smaller or equal to “0” and larger than “145.” There
are seven layers of scaling with A+ (smaller or equal zero) as the best and F (larger
than 145) as the worse cases.
In 2009 ASHRAE, LEED, and two other signifi cant institutes, American
National Standard Institute (ANSI) and Illuminating Engineering Society (IES),
aligned their forces together and published a comprehensive standard named
“Standard 189.9-2009—Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green
Buildings-Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.” The purpose of this standard
that revised and republished in 2011 (ASHRAE
2011a
) is to depict the minimum
requirements for the site selection, design, construction, and plan for operation of
high-performance green buildings with a responsible attitude towards environmen-
tal and resources. As it has been targeted and claimed, it also designed to support the
goal of development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the
ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.
Prior to these efforts in USA, the European Committee for Standardization
(CEN) which is a nonprofi t organization and its mission is to advance the European
economy, improve the welfare of the European citizens and protect the environment
by providing proper standards and specifi cations, was established in 1961. One of
the goals of CEN is to provide a unifi ed standard for energy conscious design
throughout Europe (Khazaii
2012
).
