Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 19 December 2018: ASHRAE has released an updated edition of ‘ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.2-2018 Energy-Efficient Design of Low Rise Residential Buildings’, the body announced in a Press communiqué. The standard establishes minimum whole-building energy performance requirements (design, construction and verification) for energy-efficient residential buildings, the communiqué said.

According to ASHRAE, the 2018 revision of Standard 90.2 outlines cost-effective residential building energy performance measures that are at least 50% more efficient than those defined by the 2006 International Energy Construction Code (IECC).

Theresa Weston, Chair of the Standard 90.2 committee, said: “Standard 90.2 provides a mechanism by which any residential building design can be easily evaluated against performance objectives. This update to the standard offers better alignment between this standard’s requirements and marketplace product availability, as well as some revisions to improve the document’s clarity and internal consistency.”

According to ASHRAE, the 2018 edition of Standard 90.2 provides:

• Clarification for modelling software requirements
• Guidance on the use of international climate data presented in ASHRAE Standard 169
• A new normative appendix on proper installation techniques for critical thermal resistance building components
• Improved prescriptive envelope performance data tables
• New performance specifications for ground-source heat pumps
• Minimum lighting efficiency provisions for single-family, large single-family, and multifamily homes
• Guidance on pool heater pilot lights, pump motor efficiency, and exterior de-icing systems
• Clarifications to multi-zonal building air-leakage testing procedures

The communiqué said the cost of ASHRAE Standard 90.2-2018 is USD 94 for ASHRAE members and USD 110 for non-members.