DOE to Reference ASHRAE 90.1-1999 in Federal Energy Policy Act
States must now certify that their building codes meet the requirements in ASHRAE's 1999 energy conservation standard, under a ruling recently issued by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999, Energy Standard for Buildings
Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, has been established by the DOE as the commercial building reference standard for state building energy codes under the federal Energy Conservation and Production Act.
The act requires all states to certify that they have state energy codes in place that are at least as stringent as 90.1-1999, or justify why they cannot comply with this. The DOE determined that Standard 90.1-1999 saves more energy than Standard 90.1- 1989, which was the previously referenced standard in the act.