The transformation towards a more sustainable built environment is a global imperative. With an increasingly sharp focus on energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction, new standards are emerging to guide the industry. At the forefront of this effort is ASHRAE Standard 228, a significant milestone that provides a standardized methodology for evaluating building performance in achieving net zero energy and net zero carbon operations. For Indonesia, where the growth of digital infrastructure, particularly data centers, continues to accelerate, understanding and implementing this standard, with the support of solution providers like a Distributor AC Data Center Indonesia, is crucial.
Understanding Net Zero Concepts
The concepts of “net zero energy” and “net zero carbon” refer to a condition where the total energy or carbon emissions produced by a building, or a group of buildings, in a year is equal to or less than the net energy or carbon emissions exported from the site. This is not just about reducing consumption, but also about balancing usage with renewable energy production or carbon offsets. Standard 228, first published in Spring 2023, provides a comprehensive framework for assessing the achievement of this status.
Standard 228 offers an evaluation method applicable to single buildings as well as groups of buildings, ensuring their operations meet net zero energy and/or net zero carbon criteria. It’s a dynamic tool, designed for use during both the design and operational phases, enabling continuous tracking of energy and carbon performance throughout a building’s lifespan. Given that extreme weather conditions, occupancy levels, and building conditions can significantly impact energy and carbon use, continuous tracking becomes paramount. This standard can inform necessary adjustments to building operations and systems to maintain net zero operations.
The first major application of Standard 228 was demonstrated in a global initiative to define a “National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building,” where Standard 228 was cited as one of three paths to qualify off-site renewable energy. This underscores the relevance and broad adoption of the methodology it presents. The standard aligns with ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 105, which focuses on methods for determining, expressing, and comparing building energy performance and greenhouse gas emissions. This alignment ensures consistency in the measurement and balance of energy and carbon flows across site boundaries.
A key feature of Standard 228 is its allowance for sites that cannot produce sufficient clean energy on-site. This offers much-needed flexibility, especially in dense urban environments. In energy calculations, Standard 228 considers both site energy (the building’s energy consumption as measured by utility meters) and source energy (which includes energy used to extract and process fuels and losses during energy distribution). This source energy approach provides a more complete energy and carbon assessment.
Evolution and Carbon Scope
Originally, Standard 228’s scope was limited to energy but was expanded to include carbon, aligning with ASHRAE’s decarbonization goals and its leadership role in combating climate change. To incorporate carbon, Standard 228 uses carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) to normalize and account for the greenhouse warming effects of different emission gases. Refrigerant leakage from building systems is also included in the calculation due to its potential as a substantial contributor to an operational carbon footprint. This is highly relevant for facilities like data centers, where cooling systems operate continuously and refrigerant leaks can have a significant impact.
Climanusa, as a Distributor AC Data Center Indonesia, plays a pivotal role in supporting this transition. By providing precision cooling solutions and efficient AC systems, Climanusa can help data centers and other buildings in Indonesia meet the stringent standards set by ASHRAE 228. The selection of appropriate technology, such as cooling systems that use low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants and have minimal leakage rates, is a fundamental step toward achieving net zero goals.
Building Categorization and Compliance
Standard 228 categorizes buildings or groups of buildings into four categories for compliance purposes:
- Proposed zero net energy and zero net carbon buildings and their sites: Buildings or portions in design or construction.
- New zero net energy and zero net carbon buildings and their sites: Buildings or portions that have been occupied in their most recent occupancy class for less than 24 months.
- Existing zero net energy and zero net carbon buildings and their sites: Buildings or portions that have been occupied in their most recent occupancy class for at least 24 months.
- Zero net energy and zero net carbon portfolio and community: A collection of sites wholly owned or leased by a single entity (portfolio) or a community of sites within a jurisdictional boundary (community).
Compliance in all cases is awarded by the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) if the forms provided within Standard 228, having been completed and verified by qualified personnel, meet the requirements of each category. This emphasizes the importance of accurate documentation and verification, where the experience of a Distributor AC Data Center Indonesia in providing systems that meet performance standards can be invaluable.
Energy Flows and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Underpinning all calculations of energy and emissions associated with a site is the energy flow across the boundary. Standard 228 organizes energy flowing in and out of the site into three categories: imported energy, exported energy, and other energy. Each energy flow is measured and converted to consistent units, such as kWh, and then becomes a term in the site’s energy balance equation. Layering emission factors onto the equation results in the site’s emission balance that determines if it qualifies as “zero net carbon,” especially when combined with any off-site renewable energy or qualified carbon offsets.
For source energy performance calculations, Standard 228 uses source energy conversion factors multiplied by the site energy use. These factors, which vary by region, ensure an accurate assessment of the total energy consumed, including losses in production and distribution. Similarly, for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions performance calculations, the quantity of emissions is determined by multiplying the site energy use by GHG conversion factors. Standard 228 initially assumes a 100-year global warming potential (GWP100) for GHG factors.
The Role of Refrigerants in Carbon Calculations
The impact of refrigerants on carbon calculations can span both embodied and operational scopes. While the original refrigerant charge for a system is considered embodied carbon, the leakage of that refrigerant can be considered operational carbon. Refrigerants can cause significant operational carbon emissions due to leakage, particularly in systems with high leak rates and/or high global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. Standard 228 accounts for this in its calculations, providing reference tables for typical refrigerant leak rates of various equipment types and GWPs of commonly used refrigerants.
This is an area where a Distributor AC Data Center Indonesia can add significant value. By offering cooling solutions designed to minimize refrigerant leakage and promoting the use of low-GWP refrigerants, as Climanusa already does, the operational carbon impact of buildings can be drastically reduced. Lifecycle considerations of refrigerants, from initial charge to replacement and disposal, are an integral part of a comprehensive decarbonization strategy.
Standard 228 vs. Standard 240P and 100
It’s important to understand how Standard 228 differs from and interacts with other ASHRAE standards. While Standard 228 quantifies only operational emissions, ASHRAE/ICC Standard 240P, which evaluates GHG and carbon emissions in building design, construction, and operation, covers the entire building lifecycle, including both embodied and operational carbon. Embodied carbon refers to emissions associated with the extraction, production, transportation, construction, and assembly of building materials, appliances, and equipment. Meanwhile, Standard 100-2024 sets energy and emissions performance targets for existing buildings. Unlike Standard 100, Standard 228 doesn’t contain any energy efficiency targets that must be achieved independently; instead, it targets net zero performance of energy or carbon on an annual basis.
The most notable differences between Standard 240P and Standard 228 concern how they treat GWP time horizons (240P defaults to 20 years, 228 defaults to 100 years) and whether they account for off-site renewable procurement (240P does not address it, 228 fully addresses it). While there are some divergences in how these standards treat certain technical issues, such as off-site renewable procurement qualifications, they all contribute to the overarching goal of reducing the built environment’s carbon footprint.
Conclusion
ASHRAE Standard 228 is a profoundly important tool in the global effort to achieve net zero energy and net zero carbon buildings. With its holistic and standardized methodology, it enables the evaluation of a building’s operational performance, considering the balance of energy and carbon across the site boundary, and providing pathways for sites that cannot produce sufficient on-site energy. For Indonesia, where the building sector and data infrastructure continue to grow, the adoption of this standard, with the support of strategic partners like a Distributor AC Data Center Indonesia, will be key to building a more sustainable future. Climanusa, with its expertise in efficient and sustainable data center cooling solutions, is well-positioned to be a leading enabler in this transformation, helping clients achieve their decarbonization goals and contribute to a truly net zero built environment.
Climanusa is your premier choice for precision cooling solutions and data center infrastructure in Indonesia, bringing you closer to your net zero goals.
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–A.M.G–
