scope:

Scope of the Standard

The Standard provides minimum energy-efficiency requirements for the design and construction of new buildings and new construction in existing buildings. In particular, it applies to new buildings and their systems, building additions and their systems, and new systems and equipment in existing buildings. The Standard has been expanded to include new equipment or building systems specifically identified in the Standard that are part of industrial or manufacturing processes. This change of scope, which was adopted with the 2010 version, empowers the Standard 90.1 committee to address specific manufacturing or industrial processes. Requirements have been added to address laboratories, kitchen ventilation, data centers and elevator cabs. Future addends will likely address other manufacturing and/or industrial processes.

The scope of the requirements covers the design of the building envelope, lighting systems, HVAC systems and other energy-using equipment.

The Standard applies to the building envelope when it encloses heated and/or cooled space where the heating system has an output capacity greater than or equal to 3.4 Btu/h•ft²(10 W/m²) of floor area or the cooling system has a sensible output capacity greater than or equal to 5 Btu/h•ft² (15 W/m²) of floor area. The Standard also applies to systems and equipment used in conjunction with buildings, including systems for heating, ventilating and air conditioning, service water heating, electric power distribution, electric motors and lighting.

The Standard does not apply to:

• single-family houses, multi-family structures of three stories or fewer above grade, and manufactured houses (modular or mobile homes);

• buildings that do not use either electricity or fossil fuel; or

Certain other buildings or building components may be exempt by specific notations in the technical sections of the Standard.

The Standard shall not be used to circumvent any safety, health or environmental requirements. If there is a conflict between the requirements of this Standard and safety, health or environmental codes, interpretation should be requested from the local authority having jurisdiction.

Purpose

Overview

Standard 90.1 provides minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design of buildings and building systems. It applies to all buildings except low-rise residential buildings (low-rise means three habitable floors or less). The Standard is written in building code language and is intended for adoption by national, state/province, and local code jurisdictions. The Standard specifies reasonable design practices and technologies that minimize energy consumption while providing comfortable and productive environments for the building occupants.

The Standard is broad in scope and the requirements are appropriate for a wide range of building types, climate zones and site conditions. When designing a specific building on a specific site for a specific climate, design issues will undoubtedly have to be addressed that go beyond those considered in developing the Standard.