ASHRAE Releases 90.

1-2010–Part 1: Design,
Scope, Administrative Requirements
BY CRAI G DI LOUI E, ON APRI L 18, 2011

ASHRAE/IES 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings

Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings is published every three years to provide
states and other jurisdictions with a model commercial building energy code. Today,
most states have adopted either 90.1 or the International Energy Conservation Code
(IECC), published by the International Code Council (ICC), as their energy code,
have a code based on one of them, or publish a state-specific code with similar
requirements.

The 2010 version, published November 2010, represents the most dramatic revision
of the standard since 1999. Over the past decade, the standard has steadily become
more restrictive in terms of allowed lighting power and requirements to install
lighting controls. The 2010 version takes both of these trends to a new level with the
goal of achieving dramatic energy savings and taking a significant step towards the
ultimate goal of net-zero buildings. According to the Department of Energy,
commercial buildings designed to ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2010 are expected to achieve
32.6% site energy savings and 30.1% energy cost savings compared to buildings
compliant with ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2004, excluding plug loads.

In all, the new ASHRAE/IES 90.1 standard is far more comprehensive, stringent and
complicated than its predecessors. Expect early adoption in states and other
jurisdictions that are most progressive towards energy conservation, such as the
Northeast and Pacific Northwest. To obtain a copy of the standard, visit the ASHRAE
bookstore at www.ashrae.org or the IES bookstore at www.ies.org.

“This version of the 90.1 energy standard is definitely aggressive but the developers
have taken great care to develop a set of requirement that are fair, practical and
effective,” says Eric Richman, LC, senior research engineer for the Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory and chair of the ASHRAE 90.1 Lighting Subcommittee. “As with
all energy codes, there will be conflicts for some applications and building or space
types. It is hoped that when these occur, the building owner and local building
officials can follow the intent of the standard and craft an energy-effective yet
practical solution.”

In this two-part series of special reports by the Lighting Controls Association, we will
examine the new energy standard in detail. Part one, presented here, focuses on
changes to the prescriptive lighting power requirements as well as changes to scope
and administrative requirements. Part two, to be published next month, will focus on
the standard’s extensive list of new mandatory and optional lighting control
requirements.

Lower lighting power

allowances

ASHRAE/IES 90.1 imposes limits on the amount of lighting power installed in the
building, expressed in watts per square foot (or W/linear ft.), to promote efficient
technology and design. These lighting power densities (LPDs) apply to interior and
exterior applications. It is the designer’s job to design a lighting system that satisfies
the owner’s requirements within the given LPD limit.

The 90.1 standard is considered friendlier to designers than current versions of the
IECC code because it provides LPDs for individual space types in addition to whole
building types, which provides more flexibility (but is more cumbersome to enforce,
which is why IECC, written by code officials, does not include a space by space
method). In ASHRAE/IES 90.1, designers have a choice of using the Building Area
Method (whole building power allowance) or Space by Space Method (individual
spaces, with potential additional and tradable allowances).
In the 2010 version, the majority of whole building and space LPDs are reduced by
varying amounts, based on modeling that incorporated the latest off-the-shelf
energy-efficient technologies and current IES light level recommendations.

Power adjustment credit for odd room geometries. If using the Space by Space
Method for designing lighting systems in interior spaces, a new adjustment credit is
available for rooms with odd geometries, increasing flexibility even further.

“The 2010 Standard will now provide a room geometry-based adjustment to interior
space type LPDs based on the room cavity ratio (RCR) of the empty room,” says
Richman. “This is in recognition of the fact that the current LPDs simply don’t have
much play in them, are based on typically expected room geometries, and that not
all room geometries for a specific space type are the same.”

In review, RCR is calculated as (2.5 x room cavity height x room perimeter

length)/room area, with room cavity height being the distance in feet between the
light fixtures and the workplane. The adjustment is allowed when RCR for a given
room can be shown to be greater than the threshold RCR that is tied to the LPD
allowance as shown in a table provided in the standard. It also applies to
corridor/transition spaces that are less than 8 ft. wide regardless of RCR. In these
cases, the LPD allowance can be increased by the LPD for the space type x 0.20.

“It won’t be an easy adjustment to get,” says Richman. “The RCR thresholds in the
standard are not particularly loose but those spaces that do need extra allowance for
their odd geometries will be able to get it.”

Power adjustment credit for advanced lighting controls. Although controls will be
covered in more detail in next month’s whitepaper, it is important to point out here
that ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2010 offers lighting power adjustment credits based on use of
advanced lighting control strategies. Qualifying applications include certain offices,
meeting spaces, education spaces, retail sales areas and public spaces. Qualifying
technologies range from manual dimming control to automatic continuous daylight
harvesting dimming, with power adjustment factors, which are applied to the
controlled lighting load, of 5
-30%.

“When a lighting control system is installed that is more advanced—higher energy-

saving capability—than the controls required in the standard, an incentive in the
form of additional lighting power is allowed,” says Richman. “Because the 2010
version of the standard is aggressive in terms of controls, users will find that the
controls needed to go beyond the requirements and enable getting the additional
allowance will be advanced and more complicated but will also provide additional
energy savings.”

Exterior lighting power allowance section expanded for lighting zones. In recent
versions of 90.1, the exterior lighting section has evolved to impose lighting power
allowances similarly to the way interior lighting power allowances are treated,
effectively creating a Space by Space Method addressing outdoor lighting. A large
number of outdoor lighting applications are identified covering virtually all possible
applications from building façade to parking lot, with some applications considered
“tradable” (you can take wattage savings in one applications and give those watts to
another applications) and some “nontradable.”

In ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2010, the evolution continues with the introduction of Lighting

Zones 0-4 covering application environments in order of increasing population
density (and increasing light level requirements due to assumed higher level of
ambient light from other sources in the surrounding environment), from undeveloped
areas through high-activity commercial districts. The result is a matrix crossing
outdoor application with these lighting zones, resulting in customized power
allowances by zone.

“This change is based on the current lighting community understanding that exterior
lighting needs are partially based on the level of surrounding light,” Richman
explains. “Exterior applications in areas with bright surrounding night need higher
light levels to provide appropriate contrast and eye adaptation. The table of
allowances has been split into zone sections and the allowances increased or
decreased accordingly. With this version of the standard, the exterior allowances will
be applied based on the exterior zone type.”

For example, lighting for sales canopies is limited to 0.6W/sq.ft. in developed areas
of national and state parks, forest land and rural areas, but this is increased to
1W/sq.ft. in high-activity commercial districts in major metropolitan areas.

“It is expected that most exterior environments will fall in the middle categories of
neighborhood districts and light industrial,” Richman adds. “These categories have
generally lower allowances than the previous single category, which included major
metropolitan high-activity commercial districts and was therefore set high to cover
these areas. The expected impact is that each site will have more specific and
appropriate allowance with a general reduction in exterior lighting energy use across
the country.”

Table 1. ASHRAE/IES 90.1 lighting power allowances using the Building

Area Method.

Building Type Maximum Lighting Power Density (W/sq.ft.) Allowed Per

Version of the ASHRAE/IES 90.1 Standard

1989 1999/2001 2004/2007 2010

Automotive Facility 0.96 1.5 0.9 0.982

Convention Center 2.07 1.4 1.2 1.08

Court House 1.44 1.4 1.2 1.05

Dining: Bar 1.37 1.5 1.3 0.99

Lounge/Leisure

Dining: Cafeteria/Fast 1.37 1.8 1.4 0.90

Food

Dining: Family 1.37 1.9 1.6 0.89

Dormitory 1.15 1.5 1.0 0.61

Exercise Center 2.07 1.4 1.0 0.88

Gymnasium 2.07 1.7 1.1 1.00

Healthcare Clinic 1.44 1.6 1.0 0.87

Hospital 1.44 1.6 1.2 1.21

Hotel 1.15 1.7 1.0 1.00

Library 1.29 1.5 1.3 1.18

Manufacturing 0.96 2.2 1.3 1.11

Facility

Motel 1.15 2.0 1.0 0.88

Motion Picture 2.07 1.6 1.2 0.83

Theater

Multi-Family 1.15 1.0 0.7 0.60

Museum 2.07 1.6 1.1 1.06

Office 1.26 1.3 1.0 0.90

Parking Garage 1.03 0.3 0.3 0.25

Penitentiary 1.44 1.2 1.0 0.97

Performing Arts 2.07 1.5 1.6 1.39

Theatre

Police/Fire Station 1.44 1.3 1.0 0.96

 Post Office 1.44 1.6 1.1 0.87

Religious Building 2.07 2.2 1.3 1.05

Retail 2.25 1.9 1.5 1.40

School/University 1.29 1.5 1.2 0.99

Sports Arena 2.07 1.5 1.1 0.78

Town Hall 1.44 1.4 1.1 0.92

Transportation 2.07 1.2 1.0 0.77

Warehouse 1.03 1.2 0.8 0.66

Workshop 0.96 1.7 1.4 1.20

Tandem wiring

The mandatory requirement related to tandem wiring in previous versions of the

standard is now eliminated. “This requirement was aimed directly at eliminating the
use of older standard magnetic ballasts that are designed to drive two T12 lamps
and have unnecessary losses when only driving one lamp,” explains Richman. “The
current reality is that this older technology is simply not an option anymore for new
or retrofit projects, so the language was removed.”

Coverage of lamp/ballast retrofits

Traditionally, 90.1 and IECC have covered new construction and major renovations.
Lamp and ballast replacement is typically considered maintenance and not an
alteration or repair, resulting in retrofits being traditionally ignored by code officials.

ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2010 now explicitly covers “maintenance-like” lamp plus ballast

(lamp/ballast) retrofits in both indoor and outdoor applications. Specifically, if a
building owner replaces lamp/ballast systems representing 10% or more of the
connected lighting load in an indoor space or outdoor area, the owner must comply
with the standard’s lighting power density limits and also its automatic shutoff
requirements.
First, the proposed retrofit lighting power will have to be no greater than the
maximum allowable lighting power density (LPD, expressed in watts per square foot)
for the given building or space. Next, the lighting will have to be turned OFF
automatically when it is not being used. Recognized methods include a schedule
(e.g., programmable low-voltage relay control system), occupancy sensors that turn
the lights OFF within 30 minutes of the space being vacated, and a signal from
another control or alarm system that indicates the area is unoccupied (e.g., security
or building automation system). Exceptions include lighting that must operate
continuously, lighting where care is given to patients, and lighting where automatic
shutoff would endanger occupants. (The retrofit does not further trigger the space
controls section of the standard, but if a panelboard upgrade were to be undertaken
to gain lighting automation capability, some type of manual override control should
be provided as a common sense measure ensuring occupant safety.)

The result is some regulation for lamp/ballast retrofits that previously were typically
considered not covered by code. Projects may require inspection depending on the
authority having jurisdiction. Half-measures will no longer be acceptable for retrofits
due to the requirement to achieve lower LPD levels. Again, the retrofit must be
lamps plus ballasts, so lamp-only retrofits can presumably still be performed without
having to satisfy the code. Requiring controls in retrofits may change the economics
of some retrofit projects while requiring that practitioners achieve a high level of
proficiency with lighting control application, installation and functional testing.

“This is a major change but is considered important because a majority of lighting

efficiency opportunities are found in the large fraction of projects that are retrofit
rather than new construction,” says Richman. “These requirements will likely force
more thought behind the lamp and ballast retrofit to ensure the right equipment is
used to meet the LPD limits. The additional control requirement may seem intrusive,
but this is only the simple shutoff requirement that can be met with a whole building
system or individual low-cost occupancy sensors or some other system. As with all
requirements, there are some exemptions and allowances that will provide relief in
appropriate situations.”

Documentation

Finally, there are new documentation requirements. ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2010 requires

that a list of documents be turned over to the owner within 90 days of system
acceptance, including, for example, as-built drawings of the lighting and control
system, recommended relamping program, schedule for inspecting and recalibrating
lighting controls, and a complete narrative of how each lighting control system is
supposed to operate, including its recommended settings.

“This documentation requirement is intended to ensure that the new owner and/or
operator of the lighting systems has the information needed to understand their
operation, plan for future maintenance, and address any configuration concerns,”
says Richman. “The requirements are fairly straightforward encompassing the need
to provide drawings, operation and maintenance manuals on equipment, and
narratives on the operation of each control system. Most of these are standard items
that these requirements now ensure will be completed and provided.”