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ASHRAE Publishes First Zero Energy and Zero Carbon Building Evaluation Standard



ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 228-2023, Standard Method of Evaluating Zero Net Energy and Zero Net Carbon Building Performance, sets requirements for evaluating whether a building or group of buildings meets a definition of “zero net energy” or a definition of “zero net carbon” during building operation. The standard draws from ASHRAE Standard 105, among others, to address energy and carbon flows across a site boundary, their measurement, and their balance.

“Achieving a zero energy building has been viewed by many as a difficult goal to meet, with unforeseeable roadblocks and differing guidance,” said Keith Emerson, P.E., Life Member ASHRAE, chair of the Standards Project Committee 228. Standard 228 provides a consistent method for determining whether new and existing sites have reached zero energy. We hope this standard will become a helpful resource for building professionals in strategic decarbonization planning.”

Additional features of Standard 228 are as follows:

  • Allowances for sites that lack the opportunity to produce adequate renewable energy, while placing additional requirements on the use of external carbon and renewable energy in the calculation.

  • Defined calculation of energy in terms of source—a multiplier on the energy crossing the site boundary to include energy used or lost in extraction, generation and transit to the site.

  • The main energy calculation made in terms of annual average factors. Allowance is made for the calculation of individual hours where data is available.

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