ASHRAE has formally opened its new global headquarters building, after completing a $20 million building renovation project intended to prove the economic viability of a fully net-zero-energy (NZE) operation.
“The completion of this project is an important milestone for ASHRAE as a professional society and for the built environment worldwide,” says 2021–22 ASHRAE president Mick Schwedler.
“Our society reimagined a pathway forward for existing building stock and is pleased to provide an example of the future of high-performance buildings.”
The renovated, 6,200m2 building, in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, is the culmination of a 10-month project, completed in October 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ASHRAE Treasurer Ginger Scoggins says that building renovating was in many ways harder than building a new NZE headquarters from scratch, but it was a key part of the project.
“We decided that ASHRAE could make the greatest impact by showing others how to renovate an existing building with net-zero-energy as the focus, using our own standards and guidelines,” she says.
Although ASHRAE has occupied the building for more than one year, with limited onsite staff presence, the installation of a PV solar array system was completed in October 2021, marking the beginning of the building’s operation at fully net-zero-energy performance. In addition to the PV system, the building includes other innovative approaches such as a radiant ceiling panel system, overhead fresh air distribution system, water-source heat pumps for conditioning spaces, and demand control ventilation.
