Standards, Codes and Regulations

The context of past standards and legislation must be understood in order to implement the proper systems and impact future codes. The primary differences among standards, codes, and regulations is an increasing level of enforceability of the various design parameters. While meeting standards may be optional, not meeting a code may prevent continuance of a building permit or result in the ultimate stoppage of work. State and local governments adopt and enforce energy codes for their jurisdictions. State and local governments frequently use energy standards as the technical basis for developing their energy codes. The requirement for the federal sector to use ASHRAE 90.1 and 90.2 as mandatory standards for all new federal buildings is specified in the Code of Federal Regulations-10 CFR 435. Most states use the ASHRAE 90 standard as their basis for the energy component of their building codes. One of the primary differences among standards, codes, and regulations is the increasing level of enforceability.