ASHRAE Publishes 2004 Residential Energy Standard

By reducing the number of tables needed to apply the envelope provisions and simplifying their application, ASHRAE's residential energy standard now contains only the essential information necessary to design and enforce energy conservation requirements. ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 90.2-2004, Energy-Efficient Design of Low-Rise Residential Buildings, provides minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design of residential buildings. Steve Skalko, chair of the committee that wrote the standard, said, "those who use energy codes that govern one- and two-family dwellings and low-rise multifamily structures indicated that they needed a standard that was simpler and less design intensive. Standard 90.2-2004 represents a major overhaul in formatting and improvements in energy conservation provisions."