ASA Attends ASHRAE Winter Standards Meetings

Jim Kendzel, ASA Director of Codes and Standards

I recently had the opportunity to represent ASA and HARDI at the ASHRAE Winter Meetings held in Atlanta, GA.  As I prepared to write this article and reviewed my notes from the various standards meetings attended, I realized there was a common theme in all of the meetings and that theme directly relates to Goal 1 of the ASHRAE 2019 – 2015 Strategic Plan (underlined, bolded text added by me):

Goal 1: Position ASHRAE as an Essential Knowledge Resource for a Sustainable, High-Performance Built Environment.

Objective:  Utilize a holistic approach to ASHRAE’s offerings and activities to drive positive economic, environmental and social impact through innovation in building design and operations.

Initiative: Built Environment of the Future – ASHRAE must stimulate innovation and exploration related to these challenges, and promote best practices that enable adaptability, decarbonization, resilience and recovery of buildings and communities.

Initiative:  Indoor Environmental Quality – The indoor environment of the future identifies and optimizes interactions among outdoor air quality, indoor air quality, thermal comfort, lighting, and acoustics, based on a firm understanding of implications for occupants’ health and wellness.

So why is this important?  ASHRAE standards and model codes have a direct impact on the products we produce and distribute in the marketplace; the knowledge/skills our workforce will require to provide technical guidance to customers; and the design and operation of the building structures we utilize in our businesses.  Understanding the strategic direction of ASHRAE provides an excellent road map in helping us understand how the future of building design may impact our businesses.  There is no doubt in my mind that the movement towards a sustainable, high-performance built environment – at both the residential and commercial markets – is moving quickly and will have significant impacts on the markets we serve and how we deliver our services.

With the above context, let me get a bit into the weeds and outline for you some of the key discussions/outcomes from the meetings I attended.

       Technical Committee 2.8, Water-Energy Nexus Subcommittee

The subcommittee is working on completing the first edition of the Water-Energy Nexus Design Guide.  The scope of the Guide is for nonresidential and residential applications, not including process facilities (factories, power plants, industrial facilities, mining, etc.)

Technical Committee 3.6, Water Treatment Systems

       The following summarizes the meeting discussions of the Technical Committee:

• Residential Building Committee - it was noted that ASHRAE has brought together a Residential Buildings Committee (RBC) that is responsible for identifying major residential trends impacting the practice of HVAC&R, informing the ASHRAE leadership and membership of these trends and their potential impacts, and making recommendations on new activities and policies in response to these trends. The committee will identify, recommend, and coordinate relationships with societies and organizations that focus on residential buildings.  To learn more about the RBC click here. 
• ASHRAE Handbook Chapter on Water Treatment:  The ASHRAE Handbook is widely used by design professionals and the Chapter related to Water Treatment is up for revision this review cycle leading to a publication in 2027.  I have requested the opportunity to participate on the Chapter Review Task Group so stay tuned for more information as the project develops.
• Research Proposals – The TC is responsible for submitting research proposals for consideration of funding under the ASHRAE Research Program.  Several interesting research proposals related to building water treatment are currently under consideration:
  • Gray Water applications in Health Care
  • Investigation of Sensible Ranges for Potable Hot Water Temperature for Maximum Public Safety While Also Considering Water and Energy Conservation (Literature Review)
  • Publication of Guidelines for State Codes on Supplemental Water Treatment Systems for Buildings

ASHRAE 15, Safety Standard for Refrigeration

The ASHRAE 15 Committee has focused significant time on the adoption of new requirements related to the use of Low Global Warming Potential (LGWP) refrigerants, such as A2Ls.  These new requirements have been adopted into the 2022 version of the Standard and making their way into the various model codes for adoption at the State and Local government levels. 

The following summarizes key discussions and outcomes held during the Committee meetings:

• • Marking of Pressure Vessels – draft changes to section 9.4.2 for pressure vessels was updated to reflect the marking requirements of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.  New draft will be sent out for public review.
  • IT Facilities – Proposed amendments for requirements for IT facilities and restrictions related to refrigerant use were discussed.  It was determined that significant rewrite of the proposed requirements might need to be completed.
  • Retrofitting of Refrigerant Systems – A task group, which I am a member, has been working on the development of retrofitting current refrigeration systems in the field to be able to use the new LGWP A2L refrigerants.  The task group provided an update report and will continue their work based on comments received and the direction to increase the scope of their activity to include both commercial and residential applications.

       ASHRAE 15.2, Safety Standard for Refrigeration Systems in Residential Applications

ASHRAE 15.2 was first published in 2022.  The 2023 work plan was discussed at the Committee including the consideration of addressing combined water heating and space conditioning systems and looking at outdoor refrigeration systems.

       ASHRAE 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings

The ASHRAE 90.1 Committee reviewed the current 2023 Work Plan and discussed and preliminarily approved the addition of a statement to the plan that would ask for the consideration of the social cost of carbon or other externalities that potentially could be used during the current standard development cycle to evaluate cost effectiveness of proposed changes. 

The concept of using renewable energy was discussed and the following options were considered: 1) community renewable program treated the same as other off-site renewables (if renewable energy not available on-site; or 2) local community renewable energy sources treated more favorably than other non-local sources (only use if on-site renewable energy not available), or 3) free choice in selecting on-site or off-site renewable energy sources.  Straw vote was taken but further discussion will be needed going forward.

ASHRAE 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings

ASHRAE 189.1 is a stand along document and it also is the foundational document for the International Green Construction Code.  The following highlights discussions held during the Committee meeting:

• It was noted that the ASHRAE Board had reaffirmed its commitment to have all ASHRAE Standards Net-Zero by 2030.
• ASHRAE 189.1 will be published with new revisions in 2023.  The document is on a three-year publishing cycle so new activity has begun to consider revisions to the 2023 version.
• The addenda to revise 189.1 to require water lead detection devices in building plumbing and process water systems was approved for publication in the 2023 revision of the Standard.

As I noted at the beginning of this article, the nature of building design and the HVAC and Plumbing Systems used in buildings is changing dramatically and quickly.  It is my hope that through my periodic articles on codes and standards activities that ASA and HARDI members are able to gain a better understanding of the those changes and the potential impact on their businesses.  Please do not hesitate to contact me at anytime at jkendel@asa.net if you have any questions or I can be of assistance in any way. 

As a final note, if you are not aware, ASA developed a position statement related to decarbonization and greenhouse gas reduction legislative/regulatory programs.  The position statement along with an infographic on the position statement are available for ASA members to use when they encounter these types of legislative/regulatory initiatives at the local level.  Access to the position statement and infographic, along with other key legislative/regulatory issues, is available on the ASA website Legislative and Regulatory Issues page.