U.S. Army officials will adopt and adapt ASHRAE Standard 189.1 as a new green building standard. ASHRAE Standard 189.1: Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings is the first green building standard in the U.S. intended to be enforced as a building code. The standard was finalized after four years of peer review and collaboration. The standard will be adopted on the Army’s 954 million square feet of facilities throughout the world.
The standard specifies new measures addressing energy efficiency, metering, storm water management, indoor/outdoor water consumption, and cool roofs. According to Section 5.3.2.3 of the Standard, 75% of the roof surface of a building and parking lot covering must have a cool roof. The Standard defines a cool roof as having an SRI of 78 for low-sloped and 29 for steep-sloped roofs, or as a roof material that complies with ENERGY STAR Program Requirements for Roof Products.