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ENERGY STAR
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Requirements & Resources for HVAC Designers

For a home or apartment to be ENERGY STAR certified, several key design tasks must be completed by an HVAC designer, including designing a dwelling-unit mechanical ventilation system, calculating heating and cooling loads, selecting heating and cooling equipment using those loads, and (if present) designing a duct system for the selected equipment. 

The designs must be documented using a standardized design report, dependent on the program and track selected. This is further described below. The design documentation is collected by a Rater and reviewed to ensure that it is representative of the actual home or multifamily building being certified.

ENERGY STAR Single-Family New Homes

For homes certified through the Single-Family New Homes program, the design requirements are defined in two tracks, with each track having its own design documentation requirements. A home may be certified under either track. Typically, the builder or Rater will select which track to pursue.

  • Track A – HVAC Grading. Completion of an HVAC design report compliant with ANSI / RESNET / ACCA / ICC 310 (see one template here), plus the SFNH / MFNC National HVAC Design National HVAC Design Supplement to Std. 310 for Dwellings & Units.
  • Track B – HVAC Credential. Completion of SFNH National HVAC Design Report.

Designers can compete these reports directly within many leading residential HVAC design software programs.

ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction

For multifamily buildings certified through the Multifamily New Construction program, the design requirements are defined in two tracks, with each track having its own design documentation requirements. A building may be certified under either track. Typically, the developer or Rater will select which track to pursue.

  • Track A – HVAC Grading by Rater. Completion of all of the following:
    • HVAC design report(s) compliant with ANSI / ACCA / RESNET 310 (see one template here) for each dwelling unit.
    • The SFNH / MFNC National HVAC Design National HVAC Design Supplement to Std. 310 for Dwellings & Units for each dwelling unit.
    • The MFNC National HVAC Design Supplement to Std. 310 for Common Spaces & Central Systems, All Versions, where applicable.
  • Track B – HVAC Testing by Functional Testing (FT) Agent. Completion of MFNC National HVAC Design Report.

Resources

  • Design Temperature Limits. To meet the requirements of the program, the outdoor design temperatures used in load calculations must not exceed specified limits. For homes and apartments following Track A, these limits can be found in Appendix A of ANSI / RESNET / ACCA / ICC 310. If pursuing Track B, design temperature limits specific to the ENERGY STAR program are used.
  • Single-Family New Homes HVAC Design Report Supplement (PDF, 288 KB). Under Track B, the Single-Family New Homes program allows designers to provide supplemental documentation with room-by-room and total design airflows rather than completing Item 5.5 of the National HVAC Design Report. This supplemental document is permitted, but not required, to be used to document such designs.
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