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ASHRAE publishes new BPS guide; redesigns building decarbonization webpage

February 10, 2023 – ASHRAE has published a new Building Performance Standards (BPS) Technical Resource Guide, and redesigned its building decarbonization webpage.

The BPS guide was created to provide a technical basis for policymakers, building owners, practitioners and other stakeholders interested in developing and implementing a BPS policy, says ASHRAE. The first in a series of seven guidebooks by ASHRAE on building decarbonization, this guide focuses on reducing building operating energy use and resulting emissions in existing commercial and multi-family buildings.

Jointly developed by ASHRAE, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and its national laboratories, the BPS guide is meant to provide the information needed to make informed policy design decisions that drive deeper existing building decarbonization.

“So much collaboration brought this guide to fruition, which we hope will establish some much-needed consistency across the buildings industry to set these types of goals and targets—and then work toward meeting them,” said DoE’s Harry Bergmann.

“These methodologies and approaches are a critical starting point for moving our building stock toward a high-performance, decarbonized future, and we’re intentionally doing everything we can to reduce the barriers stakeholders have to engage with this content wherever possible,” Bergmann added.

Meantime, the ASHRAE Task Force for Building Decarbonization (TFBD) webpage includes technical resources, information, videos and publications “to expedite the adoption of climate change mitigation policies, and reaffirms the society’s goals […] to achieve net-zero GHG emissions in operation for all new buildings by 2030”.

Additional features of the redesigned Building Decarbonization webpage include:

• Descriptions of seven new guidebooks focused on building decarbonization.
• A list of related outside decarbonization resources.
• A list of key decarbonization terminology.