ASHRAE announced their intention of developing an energy labeling program for commercial buildings. The program is expected to launch in June 2009 at their mid-year conference in Louisville, KY. The purpose of the program is “to provide a credible approach for disclosure of the energy performance of commercial buildings that influences the value of the properties in the marketplace.” The commercial buildings involved are those covered by ASHRAE 90.1. The use of publicly displayed energy efficiency labels is expected to motivate building owners to maximize their energy efficiency at the time of new construction or renovation. Buildings with higher energy efficiency are also expected to be valued higher than energy inefficient buildings. The practice of displaying energy ratings or labels on non-residential buildings is already common in many parts of Europe. The same concept has been part of the agenda of the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) for residential AND commercial buildings.
Further to this, a new ISO standard, 23045-2008 , “Building Environment Design – Guidelines to Assess Energy Efficiency of New Buildings”, is now on the market. This ISO standard references ASHRAE 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, and ASHRAE 90.2, Energy-Efficient Design of Low-Rise Residential Buildings.