July 7, 2008—Nine million tons of carbon dioxide. $600 million in energy costs.
Thats the potential savings represented by 100,000 copies in the Advanced Energy Design Guide series from ASHRAEnow in circulation. More than 88,000 of the publications have been obtained via free download since January.
The series includes publications on small retail and small office buildings, K-12 school buildings, and warehouses and self-storage units. The books provide guidance on how to achieve 30 percent energy savings over building code minimum based on ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1999.
Calculations show that if every guide downloaded resulted in a single building designed to save 30 percent beyond code minimum, the estimated energy and carbon savings would be 52 trillion btus and 9 million tons of carbon dioxide. With an average cost of electricity of 5 cents per kwh and gas at $7 per mmbtu, the estimated cost of energy savings is over $600 million.
The guides are developed by ASHRAE, the American Institute of Architects, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America and the U.S. Green Building Council, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy. The downloads are available online.
