ENERGY EFFICIENT AND SUSTAINABLE DESIGN POLICY FOR
VA NEW CONSTRUCTION
A. ISSUE:
Mandatory compliance requirement of Energy Policy Act (EPACT) of 2005, and
application of sustainable design principles in new construction.
B. BACKGROUND:
The EPACT 2005 mandates that all new federal facilities shall reduce the energy cost
budget by 30 percent compared to the baseline building performance rating per the
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
Standard 90.1-2004, Energy Standard for Buildings except Low-rise Residential Buildings
or International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and employ sustainable design
principles.
C. DISCUSSION:
To assure that all new Federal buildings incorporate the best energy efficiency techniques
available, Section 109 "Federal Building Performance Standards" of the EPACT 2005
directs the Secretary of Energy, within one year, to issue a rule that establishes Federal
building energy efficiency performance standards. The standards will require that, if life-
cycle cost effective, all new Federal buildings will be designed to achieve energy
consumption levels thirty percent below those of the current version of the applicable
ASHRAE standard or the IECC. The requirement further states that sustainable design
principles will be applied to the siting, design, and construction of all new and replacement
buildings. The section also requires DOE to perform a review within one year of any change
to the ASHRAE standard or IECC to see if the Federal guidance should be updated. As an
oversight provision, the section also directs each agency to include in its annual budget
request, and report under the National Energy Policy Act, identification of all new buildings
and whether they meet or exceed the developed standards.
D. VA POLICY:
The design of all new VA buildings must comply with mandatory EPACT 2005
requirements and employ sustainable design principles.
E. REFERENCES:
See Section 109 requirements @
http://www.eere.energy.gov/femp/pdfs/epact05_fem_chart.pdf
F. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Contact Kurt Knight at 202-565-4980 or Satish Sehgal at 202-565-5032 in the Facilities
Quality Service (181A).
25 April 2006
FM-181A-DA-126
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