In the quest for more sustainable facilities and increased energy efficiency, energy codes have developed elaborate requirements—presenting owners and designers with restrictive design parameters in many cases. This presentation will identify the challenges posed in present energy codes and explain how the new ASHRAE/ASHE 189.3 Standard for the Design, Construction, and Operation of High-Performance Sustainable Health Care Facilities will benefit health care facilities while providing accessible paths to compliance. This session will enable attendees to:

Recognize how and why the model energy codes are being developed and identify the skills that will need to be developed to avoid the restrictive design parameters of prescriptive path compliance.
Determine the applicability of prescriptive paths for complying with or achieving improved energy performance.
Define the integrated design actions that are key to achieving compliance through performance compliance paths.
Apply a checklist approach to design planning to ensure compliance with sustainability and energy standards.