Scribd
Upload
64 views2 pages

Section 5 Codes and Standards

Codes and standards address similar topics regarding building design and energy systems, but have different purposes and compositions. Standards represent the consensus of experts on the state of the art, while codes are legally mandatory statutes established by governments. Unfortunately, codes tend to fix the state of the art at the time they are adopted and hamper progress. In the 1970s, many recognized building codes could influence energy-efficient design, but codes were locally controlled, so the federal government used a national consensus standard as a model for energy codes.

Uploaded by

rahul1389
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
64 views2 pages

Section 5 Codes and Standards

Codes and standards address similar topics regarding building design and energy systems, but have different purposes and compositions. Standards represent the consensus of experts on the state of the art, while codes are legally mandatory statutes established by governments. Unfortunately, codes tend to fix the state of the art at the time they are adopted and hamper progress. In the 1970s, many recognized building codes could influence energy-efficient design, but codes were locally controlled, so the federal government used a national consensus standard as a model for energy codes.

Uploaded by

rahul1389
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

SECTION V

Codes and standards


Codes and standards are quite different types of documents in their composition and
purpose. In their content, however, they address similar topics, and oftentimes are
based upon each other. Building codes, where they are of the totally prescriptive type,
can have more effect upon environmental systems design and the energy consumed by
the systems than any design concepts or systems selection of the designer. It is for this
reason that the author is apologetic for not including more material on the subject of
codes and standards. Philosophically, however, in justification for the lack of more
subject matter addressing this extremely important topic, codes and standards are
always based upon current state of the art at the time they are written. The first step,
then, in the revision or updating of the code or standard is to advance the state of the
art and that goal is the fundamental purpose of most of the chapters in this book.
Unfortunately, particularly with building codes, the very existence of the code tends
to fix the state of the art and prevent or hamper progress because it is based upon
yesterdays technological level. The cycle of change is several years, thus the industry
moves as if on a stairway rather than on a continuous line upward.
Consider the differences between a standard and a code. The second chapter in this
section dwells on various types of standards and their value to society as well as their
technical-economic structure. Simply stated, a standard is a method, technique, or
other expression of the state of the art which all knowledgeable practitioners agree is
the most accurate expression or statement thereof. For example, if for the benefit of
the consuming public, it is desired to establish a standard method for testing room air
conditioning units, the method decided upon is agreed to by all of the persons who
manufacture the units and that method becomes the "standard" method. If there is
serious disagreement between the "experts" those who design and manufacture the
units, no consensus is achieved and no standard is adopted. Thus, in the entire area of
consensus standards, it is germane to recognize that a standard method or state of the
art exists only if there is consensus among the experts.
Once consensus is achieved, the standard becomes a public document against which
all technical aspects relating to the topic of the standard are compared. Continuing the
example, if there is a standard on the method of testing and rating room air
conditioners, all reputable manufacturers will use the method and so stipulate in their
technical or sales literature. As a secondary step, private testing laboratories or
agencies are often used to serve as watchdogs to "certify" that the testing and rating was
done properly in accordance with the standard. All licensed professional designers
recognize the value of the standards, and virtually none would accept a component or
subsystem that did not comply to the nationally recognized and accepted standards.
It must be recognized that in tome areas, "meeting the standard" may not imply the
111
112 V I CODES AND STANDARDS

"best," since the standard may have had to be reduced to some level of mediocrity in
order to achieve the consensus.
Codes are a bit different than standards, particularly in the realm of building codes.
Codes are not necessarily authored by technical experts, they need not achieve a
consensus prior to finalization, and they are legally mandatory as statutes or
ordinances. Additionally, there exists a large army of enforcement officials to ensure
that the designers and constructors of buildings comply with the letter and, in some
cases, the intent of the building codes.
Building codes have proved time and again to be a necessary part of the
responsibility of local and/or state governments. Oftentimes where they do not exist
as in many rural areas of the United States, unsafe, unsanitary, or unhealthy building
environments have been found to exist. Unfortunately, since the authoring and
adoption of codes is not in the hands of knowledgeable professionals, these codes have
often been manipulated in their basic content by special interest groups. This practice
of manipulation, and opportunity has fortunately been reduced in recent years with the
advent of the so-called universal, basic, or uniform building codes.
Another unfortunate aspect of building codes has been their tendency to fix the state
of the art by statute to where it is or was at the time the code is adopted. Since statutes
cannot be adopted that simply legislate, say, a code including future updating, it is
possible that a national-type code document can be updated annually; but in a given
community, if the local governing body does not act on a change to the legislation, the
old version remains in effect.
As the energy revolution started becoming evident in the early to mid-l970s, many
people recognized that the most evident vehicle to legislate energy-effective building
design was through the building codes. The fundamental problem was that building
codes, although they were used in virtually all major population centers, were locally
written and controlled, and thus not suitable to influence by the central or federal
government.
The major thread which the federal government has been able to grasp in this diffuse
legislative situation is a national consensus standard adopted by the American Society
of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE, entitled
"Energy Conservation in New Building Design-ASHRAE Standard 90." Many
so-called "model" code groups have essentially rewritten the text of this standard in
code language and thus provided an energy conservation section in their codes. The
challenge still remains for the federal government to convince the various state and
local governments to update their building codes. The first chapter in this section
addresses this issue. Also, Chapter 20 includes a discussion on the resource energy
section of ASHRAE Standard 90.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy