Building Codes - United States
IMT works to strengthen building codes across the United States. We help craft legislation related to codes, conduct reserach and advocacy work supportive of energy efficiency, and participate in the development of model codes and standards. On a more decentralized level, IMT works with state and local governments to adopt and enforce efficienct code policies. IMT is also a member of the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition which works to promote The 30% Solution 2012.
WHAT DOES IMT DO? : EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS ON CODES ACROSS THE U.S.
1. Legislative Assistance
Maryland's Building Performance Standards
IMT helped the state of Maryland write provisions of the Energy Conservation and Efficiency Act, which was signed into law in 2009. The law adopted IECC 2009 as its code standard and accelerated future state and local energy code adoptions. Notably, the law featured automatic adoption if IECC standards, meaning new versions of the IECC will be automatically incorporated into future building codes.
2. Code Development
Improving national building standards
IMT has helped develop and secure approval for provisions amending national model building standards like the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), and ASHRAE 189.1. We have presented to code committees, attended professional hearings to lobby for greener amendments, and submitted comments on building energy standards.
3. Advocacy and Consensus-building
The ICC Final Action Hearings 2012
The ICC (International Code Council) holds public hearings on potential amendments to all of its codes, where individual code changes are voted on for adoption. These Final Action Hearings determine how green (or not) new ICC codes will be. In 2010, IMT worked in conjunction with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to educate, motivate, and secure travel scholarships for over 60 local public officials from DC, MD, VA, NY, and PA to attend the Final Action hearings in Charlotte, NC. These voting members attended the ICC event and helped pass enough amendments to incorporate most of the progressively green 30% Solution into model residential and commercial energy codes, a resounding victory for energy efficiency.
4. Codes Research
Building Codes and Job Creation
Information on IMT's research relating job creation to building code enforcement is forthcoming.
BUILDING CODES AND NET ZERO ENERGY
In the long run, the goal of many building code initiatives across the country is to achieve net zero energy buildings. The American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) issued a guidance document that offers Energy Use Intensity targets for code-intended standards to achieve net zero energy by 2031. The states of Florida and Washington are also leaders in this area. Florida law, passed in June 2008, sets targets for increasing energy efficiency in new buildings by ten percent over current code with every three-year revision of the building code, beginning in 2010. Washington state passed a comprehensive energy efficiency law, effective July 2009, that includes several provisions for better building codes, including: a provision to require that the Washington state energy code be designed to "Construct increasingly energy efficient homes and buildings that help achieve the broader goal of building zero fossil-fuel greenhouse gas emission homes and buildings by the year 2031..."; encouragement for the creation of a strategic plan that identifies barriers to achieving net zero energy buildings and methods to overcome the barriers through energy code updates and complementary policies; and that construction permitted under the 2031 state energy code achieve a seventy percent reduction in annual net energy consumption over the 2006 state energy code, requiring incremental increases in efficiency through the code until 2031.
PUBLICATIONS & RESOURCES
- IMT letter to the International Code Council (Nov. 2009) supporting stronger building energy codes
- US Senate Energy Bill Building Energy Code Provision (June 2009)
- NEEP Model Policy Paper (March 2009) by the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership. The paper on Model Progressive Building Energy Codes Policy includes recommendations for a comprehensive strategy that includes energy code compliance and measuring and reporting the energy baseline. It includes IMT's model legislative language for benchmarking and disclosure requirements (see our Benchmarking and Disclosure page for more information).
- An Appeal to US Mayors to Improve Building Energy Codes (2008) by IMT.
- Building Energy Code Enforcement, A Look at Seattle and California (2003) by John Hogan of Seattle and Lynn Benningfield of Herschong Mahone Group provides history and background around energy code enforcement in the US and highlights examples of some of the nation's best building energy code enforcement programs.
IN THE NEWS
Nov. 28, 2010: A Mundane Approach to a Vexing Problem in New York Times
Nov. 5, 2010: Celebrating a historic week for building energy codes guest blog on Climate Progress
Nov. 5, 2010: US Adopts 30% Energy-Efficiency Savings for Buildings in Environmental Leader
Nov. 5, 2010: U.S. building officials approve new energy efficiency codes from EnergyBoom.com
Nov. 5, 2010: Big exciting news about building codes. No, really in Grist
Nov. 4 , 2010: New Building Codes to Deliver 30% Energy Savings in Enigin
Nov. 3, 2010: Officials vote to upgrade building energy efficiency codes from Missouri Association of Accredited Energy Professionals
Nov. 2, 2010: Historic gains in energy efficiency for new homes and commercial buildings in Consulting-Specifying Engineer
Nov. 2, 2010: US model energy code approved, likely to deliver 30% savings boost from NW Energy Coalition
Nov. 5, 2010: See IMT's guest blog on ClimateProgress.org that explains a historic week for US building codes.
June 1, 2009: AIA and NBI co-sponsor a proposal to strengthen by 25% the efficiency requirements of the 2012 IECC from Building Energy Performance Info
May 21, 2009: The Race for Better Building Codes in New York Times
EXTERNAL LINKS
Building Code Assistance Project: Online Code Environmental & Advocay Network (BCAP-OCEAN)
US Dept. of Energy: Building Energy Codes Program (BCEP)
