By Steve Rizer
A working version of the “National Performance Based Design Guide” could be released this year, National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) Program Director Roger Grant told ConstructionPro Week following two High Performance Building Council (HPBC) meetings that took place last week at the Building Innovation 2013 Conference in Washington, D.C. HPBC is developing the guide, which he believes will help facility owners and planners “identify a full range of performance for all primary building functions and systems from baseline to the highest attainable level of performance.”
Grant noted that “there is no standardized and multi-attribute based methodology for identifying and advancing performance above baseline (code minimum) [that is] available to facility owners and designers. Buildings need to perform across the full spectrum of requirements to be cost effective and meet the needs of occupants.”
Grant additionally reported that HPBC and the ad-hoc High Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCCC) will join forces, with the HPBCCC coming under the HPBC, “to proactively identify an agenda that advances the various recommendations and findings coming from [NIBS] special and annual reports.” The groups will advance that agenda on Capitol Hill “to provide education and support that is strategically aligned with the legislative agenda of Congress and the White House.”
Furthermore, Grant expects HPBC to provide its work on identification of a matrix of high-performance standards to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Energy Efficiency Standards Coordination Collaborative (EESCC) effort to help populate its survey of the current state of practice and collaborate with it on advancing high-performance buildings. The first plenary meeting of the ANSI EESC is scheduled to take place Jan. 22-23 in Arlington, Va.
Also included in Part I of ConstructionPro Week's Building Innovation 2013 coverage (ConstructionPro Network member access):
- More Comments from NIBS Program Director Roger Grant
- Innovative Energy-Reduction Program Proves 'Very Successful'
- Exhibitor News Briefs Featuring the Building Commissioning Association, Acuity Brands Inc., and Dryvit Systems Inc.
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