The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have released the first technical support documents to show 50 percent energy savings in commercial retail buildings is achievable.
The two reports provide recommendations on how to achieve 50 percent energy savings over the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1-2004 in grocery stores and medium-sized retail buildings.
Conducted by NREL's Commercial Buildings team, under the direction of DOE's Building Technologies Program, the studies are part of DOE's goal of producing market-ready, net-zero energy commercial buildings by 2025.
The reports found that achieving 50 percent energy savings is possible for medium-sized retail buildings with plug load levels no greater than 1.76 W/sq. ft. (18.9 W/sq. m.) and for grocery stores in each climate zone in the United States. According to the reports, reaching 50 percent is a positive return on investment at today's energy prices and can be met without photovoltaic electricity generation.
DOE commissions technical support documents to describe the assumptions, methodologies, and analyses used to achieve certain levels of energy performance. In many cases, the documents are the basis for Advanced Energy Design Guides (AEDGs)—"how to" guides that show how to achieve above-code exemplary energy performance for buildings. AEDGs target architects, engineers, and other design practitioners and demonstrate that a pathway to energy savings exists today with available technology.
The ASHRAE AEDGs are developed by ASHRAE, DOE, the American Institute of Architects, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America, and the U.S. Green Building Council. To date, four AEDGs have been published and all have targeted 30% energy savings:
• The ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Office Buildings—Office Buildings up to 20,000 square feet.
• The ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Retail Buildings—Retail Spaces up to 20,000 square feet.
• The ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 School Buildings—Elementary, Middle, and High School Buildings
• The ASHRAE 30% Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Warehouses and Self-Storage Buildings—Warehouses up to 50,000 square feet and self-storage buildings that use unitary heating and air-conditioning.
