The Attack on Glazing: What Lies Ahead

The deadline for the public comment period in the WWR battle was June 17, and the ASHRAE 189.1 committee is expected to begin the review process this week at the 2013 ASHRAE Annual Conference in Denver.

ASHRAE 189.1 proposes reducing the prescriptive glazing area limit from 40 percent to 30 percent WWR for buildings less than 25,000 square feet, a decrease thatcould mean fewer windows, shorter/smaller windows, a transition from strip windows to punched openings, and a transition from curtain wall to strip windows. Opponents to the proposal point out that it does not take into consideration the benefits daylighting provides building occupants.

As for what lies ahead, "a final decision on the comment responses can be expected in late summer / early fall," says Tom Culp, owner of Birch Point Consulting LLC, and code consultant for the Glass Association of North America and the Aluminum Extruders Council. "If we win or come to some compromise, we're done. If it goes against us, then we will have one more chance to present our objections prior to their final vote for publication (likely over the winter), and assuming they still go ahead, we can file an appeal to the ASHRAE board once they do publish (most likely next summer). We can appeal at ASHRAE based on both technical and procedural grounds. If we lose there, we can have one more final appeal at ANSI, but only on procedural grounds."

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