Description

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Energy efficiency requirements in current commercial building energy codes vary across states, and most states have not yet adopted the newest energy standards. Current state energy code adoptions range across all editions of the ASHRAE 90.1 Standard (-1999, -2001, -2004, and -2007). Some states do not have a code requirement for energy efficiency, leaving it up to the locality or jurisdiction to set its own requirement. The ability for states to quantify the relative costs and benefits of past or future code adoptions can inform policymakers with respect to the outcomes from their decisions. The Engineering Laboratory's Applied Economics Office has developed an extensive database, known as the Building Industry Reporting and Design for Sustainability (BIRDS) database, which allows the comparison of the energy efficiency and sustainability of alternative building designs based on different editions of ASHRAE Standard 90.1. The expansive database is a compilation of multiple data sources, including results from 13 680 whole building energy simulations for 12 commercial building prototypes in 228 cities across all U.S. states, building construction costs from RS Means and Whitestone databases, energy cost data collected from the Energy Information Administration, and emissions data collected from the Environmental Protection Agency. This report documents the prototype building designs and the life cycle costing and carbon assessment data and approaches implemented in the BIRDS building energy efficiency and sustainability database.