The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) is leading by example. The international organization is moving into its new global headquarters in Atlanta following extensive renovations to an existing building.
“Although new construction of net-zero energy buildings makes a lot of headlines, re-use of existing structures is a basic tenet of sustainability – the energy performance of existing buildings must be addressed to substantially impact the 40% of primary energy consumed by buildings,” says ASHRAE Building Ad Hoc Committee Chair Ginger Scoggins. “ASHRAE’s new global headquarters is a prime example of (making) net-zero energy the ‘new norm’ in sustainable design and construction.”
The new headquarters is located at 180 Technology Parkway, in Peachtree Corners, Georgia. ASHRAE began renovations in January 2020 on an existing 66,700 square foot building, originally built in 1978. The renovated version is expected to achieve an energy use intensity of 17 kBtu/sf/yr.
The building was designed as a “living showcase of what’s possible through technology integration to increase efficiency, protect people and property, and enhance the occupant experience,” says ASHRAE President Charles E. Gulledge III.
The technology used in the project includes:
- Building Information Modeling
- Building Automation System integrated with other systems
- Online dashboard for remote monitoring and analysis of building performance
- Radiant ceiling panels for heating, cooling and fresh outdoor air ventilation
- Enthalpy heat recovery
- Six water source heat pumps
- Demand control ventilation
- On-site electric vehicle charging
- Roof-top and ground mounted photovoltaic solar energy
- 18 new skylights and reconfigured window/wall ratio
- Useful daylight illuminance (>300 lux) at the work plane Window Wall Ratio (WWR) 79.9% Existing – New WWR east/west 33.5% – north/south – 41.9%.