Standard 189.1 Inches Toward LEED in New Revision

The standard designed to “provide total building sustainability guidance” recently underwent a substantial update and will start impacting other building codes and standards like the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) in 2015. ASHRAE 189.1, the Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential, considered an entry-level green standard, is now published in a 2014 version and is available for download.

The updated standard incorporates 67 addenda, many of which are designed to align with recent changes to other ASHRAE standards (see Overhaul of ASHRAE 90.1 Brings New Requirements). These include changes to the fenestration orientation rules, new requirements for preoccupancy ventilation and building envelope moisture management, and an expanded indoor environmental quality section that now addresses lighting quality.

The revisions also show evidence of first steps toward the standard’s forthcoming alignment with LEED per an agreement reached earlier this year (see One Standard to Rule Them All: LEED, IgCC, 189.1 to Be Parts of Single System). Prescriptive and performance-based site options are now mandatory, and new requirements for multiple-attribute product declarations and certifications have been added, though full alignment with LEED baseline metrics is not expected until 2017.

Standard 189.1-2014 can be purchased at the ASHRAE bookstore for $128.