This chapter of the Nonresidential Compliance Manual addresses covered processes for the 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Energy Codes) (§120.6 and §140.9).
This chapter is organized as follows:
•10.1 — Introduction to Covered Processes
•10.2 — Enclosed Parking Garages
•10.3 — Commercial Kitchens
•10.4 — Computer Rooms
•10.5 — Commercial Refrigeration
•10.6 — Refrigerated Warehouses
•10.7 — Laboratory Exhaust
•10.8 — Compressed Air Systems
•10.9 — Process Boilers
•10.10 — Elevator Lighting and Ventilation Controls
•10.11 — Escalators and Moving Walkways Speed Controls
•10.12 — Controlled Environment Horticulture
•10.13 — Steam Traps
Compliance documentation includes the certificates of compliance, reports, and other information that are submitted to the enforcement agency with an application for a building permit. Compliance documentation also includes documentation completed by the installing contractor, engineer/architect of record, or owner’s agent to verify that certain systems and equipment have been correctly installed and commissioned.
Under the prescriptive compliance approach, the project designer is responsible for completing the Process Compliance Forms & Worksheets. The project designer is required to complete all applicable sections of the NRCC-PRC-E. This form is required on plans for all submittals with covered processes. For the performance compliance approach this form will automatically be completed by the approved computer compliance program.
Significant changes for covered process in the 2022 update to the Energy Codes include both new processing loads being covered as well as additional requirements being applied to process loads that were covered by the energy code previously.
Newly covered process loads include:
•Controlled environment horticulture (mandatory measures).
o Electric lighting for growing plants now must have high photosynthetic photon efficacy (PPE), which is spectrum-efficient for growing plants, and must have dimming and timeclock controls.
o Dehumidifiers must meet federal dehumidifier standards or recover at least 75 percent of the heat used for reheating.
o Conditioned greenhouses must have at least two glazing layers.
•Steam traps (mandatory measures).
o Steam trap monitoring system which provides status updates of steam trap fault detection sensors.
o Steam traps must have an integral strainer and blow-off valves, or a strainer and blow-off valve must be installed within 3 feet upstream of the steam trap.
•Compressed air systems (mandatory measures).
o Base-compressed air-system requirements on total horsepower of compressors connected to compressed air piping.
o Energy and air demand monitoring systems capable of measuring and logging pressure, compressor power and compressor airflow of the compressed air systems.
o Leak testing requirements for compressed air piping.
o Compressed air system pipe sizing requirements to minimize frictional losses in the distribution system.
•Computer room (prescriptive measures).
o Require minimum efficiencies for alternating current uninterruptible power supplies.
•Transcritical carbon dioxide (CO2) refrigeration systems in refrigerated warehouses (mandatory)
o Minimum condensing temperature
o Transcritical gas coolers — sizing requirements, minimum efficiency and air-cooled gas coolers prohibited in some climate zones
•Transcritical CO2 refrigeration systems in commercial refrigeration (mandatory)
o Minimum condensing temperature
o Transcritical gas coolers — sizing requirements, minimum efficiency and air-cooled gas coolers prohibited in some climate zones
•Automatic door closers in refrigerated warehouses
Revisions to covered process loads previously regulated under the Energy Code:
•Computer room (mandatory measures).
o Prohibit reheating and simultaneous heating and cooling.
o Humidification shall be adiabatic.
o Unitary air conditioners and chilled water fan systems shall be designed to vary the airflow rate as a function of actual load.
•Computer room (prescriptive measures).
o Define supply air temperatures for air and water economizers.
o For air economizers and water economizers, revise ambient air temperatures when full economizing occurs.
o Require air containment for computer rooms with information technology equipment (ITE) of 10 kW or more.