Published August 27, 2026
By NZero
Commercial buildings are facing increasing expectations to improve energy performance, manage operating costs and address greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, building standards are evolving to determine how these objectives should be incorporated into building design and operation. In 2026, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) announced a new direction for Standard 90.1, its long-standing energy efficiency standard for commercial buildings. ASHRAE plans to maintain Standard 90.1’s primary focus on energy efficiency and energy cost justified requirements, while moving provisions focused on operational greenhouse gas emissions into a separate publication. The change affects Addenda M and N, which were introduced in the 2025 edition and addressed operational greenhouse gas emissions. This development provides an opportunity to examine how building energy standards are evolving and why operational energy management is becoming increasingly relevant for building owners and facility teams.
ASHRAE Standard 90.1, formally known as the Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, has been a major benchmark for commercial building energy efficiency since 1975. The standard establishes minimum requirements for the energy-efficient design and construction of buildings and their systems and is used as a basis for building energy codes in jurisdictions across the United States and internationally.
Under ASHRAE’s latest direction, Standard 90.1 will continue to focus on energy efficiency and energy cost justified requirements. Meanwhile, operational greenhouse gas emissions reduction will be addressed through a separate publication. This publication is intended to provide an optional framework for jurisdictions and other users that want to incorporate operational emissions requirements into their building policies.
The change specifically affects Addenda M and N, which were incorporated into the 2025 edition. These provisions addressed operational carbon and greenhouse gas emissions associated with building energy use. Rather than retaining these provisions within the core standard, ASHRAE plans to transition them into the separate framework.
ASHRAE has said the restructuring reflects input from stakeholders involved in the development and application of the standard. The organization has also highlighted transparency, affordability and choice as principles guiding the committee’s work. The change therefore represents a restructuring of how energy efficiency and operational emissions are addressed within ASHRAE’s standards framework.
Standard 90.1 continues to introduce increasingly stringent energy efficiency requirements across commercial building systems. The 2025 edition includes more than 100 addenda covering areas such as building envelopes, mechanical systems, controls and equipment efficiency. According to the Standard 90.1 committee, the 2025 edition is expected to deliver approximately a 7% to 8% improvement in efficiency compared with the 2022 edition.
These improvements can reduce the amount of energy required to operate a building, but the efficiency of individual components is only one factor determining total energy consumption. Actual building performance also depends on how systems operate together.
Occupancy, weather, operating schedules, temperature settings and equipment controls can all affect energy use. A building with highly efficient equipment can still consume more energy than expected if HVAC systems operate unnecessarily, equipment schedules do not reflect occupancy or systems are not responding effectively to changing conditions.
This creates an increasingly important role for operational energy management. Once efficiency measures have been incorporated into building design and equipment, facility teams can look at how systems perform in real-world conditions and where operational adjustments could reduce consumption and costs.
The distinction is particularly relevant as efficiency improvements become more incremental in some areas. Lighting and ventilation, for example, have already undergone significant efficiency improvements. Further gains may increasingly depend on how systems are controlled and coordinated.
Building controls can provide facility teams with tools to adjust energy consumption according to changing conditions. HVAC systems, for example, can be scheduled around occupancy patterns, while building loads can be adjusted to reduce electricity consumption during periods of high demand.
One example highlighted in connection with Standard 90.1 is precooling. By cooling a building before periods of extreme heat, operators can potentially reduce cooling requirements during peak demand hours. A demonstration involving a large commercial building in the Chicago area reportedly achieved a 20% reduction in peak energy load through precooling.
Other strategies can include:
Implementing these strategies requires visibility into building energy performance. Utility bills can show how much electricity or natural gas a facility consumed, but more detailed data can help reveal when and where energy is being used.
For example, comparing energy consumption against weather conditions can help identify inefficient HVAC operation. Examining consumption by time of day can reveal opportunities for peak demand management. Historical comparisons can also help facility teams determine whether an operational change has produced measurable improvements.
As more building systems become connected, energy data can increasingly serve as a foundation for these decisions.
ASHRAE’s decision to separate operational emissions provisions from the core Standard 90.1 framework represents a change in how different aspects of building performance will be addressed. Standard 90.1 will continue to provide a foundation for commercial building energy efficiency, while a separate publication will address operational greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
For building owners and facility teams, energy performance will continue to depend on both building systems and how those systems operate. Equipment efficiency, building design, controls, demand management, energy storage and renewable energy can all influence a facility’s energy consumption and operating costs.
As buildings become more efficient, understanding actual operating performance can provide additional opportunities to improve energy use. Reliable energy data can help facility teams identify consumption patterns, detect potential inefficiencies and evaluate whether operational changes are delivering results.
The evolution of building standards therefore also highlights the importance of managing energy beyond the design stage. Digital energy management technologies can help organizations turn building data into actionable insights and identify opportunities to improve day-to-day energy performance. NZero’s EnergyPilot AI is one example of technology designed to help organizations identify and prioritize energy efficiency opportunities.
