A newly published User’s Manual clarifies the intent and implementation of the building industry’s foremost green building standard by explaining its requirements and providing example applications.
The User’s Manual to ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2014, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is intended to help engineers, architects, and contractors understand and comply with the standard and to help code officials and others enforce its requirements. This new version of the User’s Manual updates the version published in 2010, which covered the content of Standard 189.1-2009.
Standard 189.1 addresses the areas of site sustainability; water-use efficiency; energy ef­ficiency; indoor environmental quality; the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources; and construction and plans for operation.  The standard is published by ASHRAE, the Illuminating Engineering Society of (IES) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). For complete information on the standard, including a readable copy, visit www.ashrae.org/greenstandard.
“The 2014 standard updates the 2011 standard through 67 individual addenda that modified all sections of the standard,” Andrew Persily, chair of the Standard 189.1 committee, said. “The User’s Manual is vital in helping the industry understand these updated provisions, which will help further reduce building energy and environmental impacts through high performance design, construction and operation while providing indoor environments that support the activities of building occupants.”
Among the many changes in the 2014 edition of Standard 189.1 that are addressed in the User’s Manual are:

• Change of all site requirements to mandatory, with the previous prescriptive and performance options moved to the mandatory requirements.
• Addition of minimum storm water management requirements for minimizing the impact of storm water discharge from the project site.
• Inclusion of new requirements for bicycle parking; preferred park for low-emission, hybrid and electric vehicles; and a predesign assessment of native and invasive plants.
• Adjustment of minimum on-site renewable energy requirements to provide two clear prescriptive paths for including on-site renewable energy in a project.
• Establishment of two performance options for demonstrating compliance with the minimum energy efficiency requirements.
• Addition of lighting quality to the scope of the indoor environmental quality section as well as requirements for lighting controls in specific space types.
• Clarification of the requirements for air sealing of filtration and air-cleaning equipment; and new requirements for preoccupancy ventilation.
• Addition of minimum moisture control requirements to reduce negative impacts associated with unintentional moisture migration through the building envelope.
• Addition of new requirements for multiple-attribute product declaration or certification and maximum mercury content of certain types of electric lamps.
• Update of requirements related to the environmental impacts associated with the idling of construction vehicles and new requirements to reduce the entry of airborne contaminants associated with construction areas.

The cost of the User’s Manual is $105 ($89, ASHRAE members).
To order, visit www.ashrae.org/bookstore or contact ASHRAE Customer Contact Center at 1-800-527-4723 (United States and Canada) or 404-636-8400 (worldwide) or fax 678-539-2129.
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its more than 54,000 members worldwide focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability. Through research, standards writing, publishing, certification and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today. More information can be found at www.ashrae.org/news.