ASHRAE President testifies on federal building efficiency.
Press Release Summary:
U.S. House Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization and Procurement held a hearing to examine federal government's role in greening buildings. Testifying at the hearing, ASHRAE President Lynn G. Bellenger said that, "over the years significant progress has been made in the federal, commercial, and residential sectors, and we are poised to embark on a new era of energy efficiency and taxpayer dollar stewardship that will lead us to net-zero-energy buildings."
Original Press Release:
ASHRAE President Testifies on Optimizing Federal Building Efficiency at Congressional Subcommittee
ATLANTA - The impact of the U.S. buildings is surprisingly large, with CO2 emissions alone approximately equaling the combined emissions of Japan, France and the United Kingdom for transportation, industry and buildings.
The U.S. Federal government is the nation's single largest energy consumer and greenhouse gas emitter, and in Congress's efforts to seek ways of improving the energy efficiency of federal buildings, the U.S. House Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization and Procurement held a hearing on Wednesday, July 21 to examine the federal government's role in greening buildings.
Testifying at the hearing, ASHRAE President Lynn G. Bellenger said that, "over the years significant progress has been made in the federal, commercial and residential sectors, and we are poised to embark on a new era of energy efficiency and taxpayer dollar stewardship that will lead us to net-zero-energy buildings.
"Going forward, maximizing building efficiency and sustainability will require a fundamental shift in how buildings have been approached - from design to operation. Working together toward a whole building approach that fully considers how each system and building component will interact - instead of each discipline focusing on their own area of expertise - will be an essential element of ensuring that taxpayer dollars are well-spent."
ASHRAE has long-partnered with the federal government on efforts to improve building efficiency, and ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential, now serves as both a federal building standard and the national reference for state-adopted commercial building codes. During the hearing, Bellenger highlighted several efforts and initiatives that ASHRAE is engaging in that will help lead to increased building efficiency, including ASHRAE's:
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of some 50,000 persons. ASHRAE fulfills its mission of advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education.