Many building owners and architects across the country are already installing insulation at levels that exceed these values.
In many ways these new insulation levels are long overdue. This is ASHRAE’s first step to support the emerging trend to make buildings significantly more efficient. This is predicated on existing ASHRAE requirements and independent analysis that concludes that additional roof insulation is cost effective, saves energy, and reduces pollution and carbon emissions. The Benefits of Insulation In all climate zones, insulation can dramatically help to reduce cooling loads and lower energy costs.
ASHRAE 90.1 ROOF INSULATION REQUIREMENTS CODE
But regardless of the code compliance approach used, these new insulation values establish a new benchmark for commercial building energy efficiency. The ASHRAE standard has various performance compliance mechanisms - from prescriptive requirements to computer simulations and tradeoffs. The actual changes are climate zone and building type specific. It is anticipated that the ASHRAE Board will adopt these new values because the Board charged the 90.1 committee to deliver a new commercial building energy standard that is 30 percent more efficient than the 2004 version by 2010. This approval sets the stage for ratification by various levels of the ASHRAE Standards development process, culminating in acceptance by the ASHRAE board of directors, which is expected in June of this year. Of greatest significance is the Standard 90.1 committee approval of these proposed changes for the next version of the code. Similar increases are proposed for walls. If the increases are adopted, the above-deck roof insulation requirements currently at R-15 would go to R-20 - a 33 percent increase in roof insulation levels. Now for the first time in over 18 years, ASHRAE has proposed increases to the minimum required roof and wall insulation levels in Standard 90.1, the national model energy code for commercial buildings. Incredibly, many of the commercial building insulation levels in ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004 contain thermal envelope R-value levels that have not been significantly improved or strengthened since 1989.