The International Standards Organization has just released a new standard, ISO 50001, which could accelerate the improvement in building energy performance worldwide. ISO 5001 defines how facility executives can establish an energy management plan and integrate it with their routine business model.
AMCA International is a voting member of the ISO Technical Committee TC-242 Energy Management.
Central to the standard is its definition of an energy management system as a "Set of interrelated or interacting elements to establish an energy policy and energy objectives, and processesand procedures to achieve those objectives."
ISO 50001 is applicable to any size and type of organization in any country and to every type of building using any type of energy from any source. And, it's designed to be integrated with organizational policies and practices already in place.
What makes this level of flexibility possible is the standard's simplicity-it does not set energy performance goals; nor does it specify detailed requirements for plans, policies, and procedures. The more complex an organization is, the more complex its energy management system. For example, the energy management plans for office properties will be relatively simple compared to those of industrial facilities; however, both will have similar elements under ISO 50001.
ISO 50001 adopters can self-certify or undergo a third-party audit. Auditors, however, are not yet available in the U.S. until after the first round of certification exams are given in October.
ISO 50001 is being supported by the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR program and the U.S. Dept. of Energy. EPA and DOE are releasing tool kits in October 2011 to help U.S. organizations implement the Standard.
Links:
- ISO 50001 can be purchased in the at ANSI; in Canada at CSA Standards; or internationally at ISO's online store.
- DOE's 7-step web-based toolkit for ISO 50001, Energy Management System Implementation Self-Paced Module, which will be released in October 2011. Learn more about it here
- Sign up for ISO 50001 updates via email from DOE here.
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The Superior Energy Performance is a certification program that provides industrial facilities with a roadmap for achieving continual improvement in energy efficiency while maintaining competitiveness. The program will provide a transparent, globally accepted system for verifying energy performance improvements and management practices. It is anticipated that Superior Energy Performance will launch nationally in 2012.
A central element of Superior Energy Performance is implementation of the global energy management standard, ISO 50001, with additional requirements to achieve and document energy performance improvements.
Testing opportunities are available through energy management demonstration projects occurring in several states in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy's Industrial Technologies Program.
Learn more about the Superior Energy Performance Program for industrial facilities at www.superiorenergyperformance.net.
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AMCA International is pleased to announced continuing refinements to its Energy Initiatives website at www.amca.org/feg.
New sections have been added to provide information and resources on best practices and news (i.e., the AMCA Energy Focus Newsletter). Future additions will include International Energy Initiatives and Events.
The Best Practices section links to AMCA articles and publications, as well as technical articles in engineering trade publications such as ASHRAE Journal, Engineered Systems, Consulting-Specifying Engineer, and HPAC Engineering.
Best Practices also links to resources such as the DOE/AMCA Fan System Assessment Tool (FSAT) for industrial fan systems, and design guides for VAV systems.
The goal of the Best Practices section is to help practitioners make the design, installation, commissioning, operations, and maintenance of high-performance air systems more effective and efficient.
The Best Practices section will be continually improved over time to include videos, podcasts, links to Webinar archives, and other media. It will also eventually extend to international (non-U.S.) resources.
Feel free to contact Michael Ivanovich at (847) 704-6340 or via email at mivanovich@amca.org.