SierraScape December 2010 - January 2011
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by Becky Denney
Conservation Committee Chair

The government code officials of the International Code Council (ICC) passed historic energy efficiency gains for new homes on October 29 at the ICC Annual Conference and Final Action Hearings in Charlotte, NC. The proposals amount to a 30% increase of energy efficiency over the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). This model code will be officially adopted as the 2012 IECC but must then be adopted by states and local cities for it to be implemented at local levels. This summer the St. Louis County Council passed the 2009 IECC which contained proposals for an unprecedented increase of 12% energy savings over the 2006 IECC. Techniques for as much as 30% energy savings were well known by the 2009 ICC cycle adoption process but missed acceptance by a few votes.

The proposals offered by the US Department of Energy plus improvements from the 30% Solution and some other proposals will seal up the exterior leaks in new homes so that heating and cooling costs are reduced, will improve efficiency of windows and skylights, increase insulation in ceilings, walls, and foundations and increase lighting efficiency. Leaks from heating and cooling ducts will be sealed up to save energy use. And hot-water distribution systems will be improved to save water and energy wasted in piping.

A joint commercial codes package including Dept of Energy and American Institute of Architects proposals was also adopted by code officials. Commercial buildings will have 30% energy efficiency gains using some of the same techniques as the residential codes listed above. But designers and developers can also use some other techniques such as "commissioning" for new buildings. This technique links the building design with lifelong building performance using systems of quality assurance that monitor, identifies and makes corrections to adjust energy us.

Cool Cities Coordinator Cammy Watkins, co-led the Energy Efficiency Codes Coalition (EECC) Outreach Committee, and was part of the team given special credit for passage of the codes at the hearings in late October.