By Cyrus Reed
[Editor's Note: An earlier version of this blogged appeared on the Mitchell Foundation blog.]
We live in a politically polarized age—particularly in the state of Texas. Renewables are either a godsend or a pipe dream. Fossil fuels are either our economic bedrock or a culprit of climate change disaster.
So it’s refreshing when strange bedfellows, like the Sierra Club and the Texas Chemical Council, agree that something is good for both the environment and the economy.
Welcome to the world of “building energy codes,” and, more specifically, implementation of new Texas requirements that will raise our minimum codes for new construction and make new buildings more energy, water, and gas efficient.
In 2001, Texas lawmakers ordered the State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) to adopt the first building energy code, as part of an overall air quality bill. These codes, the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and International Residential Code (IRC), are reviewed and updated every three years by the International Code Council, a group of city building code officials and other stakeholders. They set minimum energy standards for things like windows, insulation, building envelopes, roofs, lighting, and many other aspects of building design. Texas has twice updated these minimum standards, first in 2010, and then, just this past year, with the adoption of the 2015 IECC and 2015 IRC.
Recent developments
With a great amount of effort and input from legislators, stakeholders, administrative officials, and public support, the Texas Legislature passed HB 1736. This bill, in its original form, would have delayed adoption of a new code. Instead, the significant work of all parties involved led to a “compromise” which raises the minimum energy codes for residential construction to the 2015 IRC much sooner. The bill was supported by the Texas Chemical Council, Texas Association of Homebuilders, and the Sierra Club, among many others.
The new version of the bill will make the 2015 codes for residential construction effective on September 1, 2016, but delays statewide adoption of any newer codes until 2021 to give the home construction industry some predictability. The bill also allows builders a more flexible compliance path known as the Energy Rating Index - a kind of miles-per-gallon energy rating for your home.
Following passage of the bill, SECO reconfirmed the September 2016 implementation date of the new 2015 residential code AND updated Texas commercial codes for new construction, effective November 1, 2016. The updated commercial codes will also require that state and university-financed buildings meet similar standards by June 1, 2016.
The fun part
While the state sets these minimum codes for new construction, cities must ultimately adopt them, often with their own unique amendments (and politics).
While some Texas cities, like San Antonio, have already adopted the new codes, others such as El Paso, Houston, and Corpus Christi are just beginning the code adoption process. For example, in the City of Austin, where the code update process is already underway with cooperation from Austin Energy, groups like the Sierra Club are urging that, within this process, they consider add-on amendments like “solar-ready” requirements, which would make all new buildings “ready” to incorporate solar PV.
Cities are not alone while they go through the process. SECO has hired a third party to conduct code trainings throughout Texas. In addition, the South-Central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER) is providing training and direct support for code officials and builders. Their Energy Code Ambassadors program, webinars, in-person trainings, and onsite toolkit for code adoption include information on state law requirements regarding the energy code, clarifying amendments and forms, and an analysis of the benefits of adopting the new codes.
Do these codes really help the economy and the environment?
Short answer: Yes.
Texas requires that the Energy Systems Laboratory, part of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), analyze the effect of more energy efficient buildings on both energy savings and air pollution reduction. Their analysis comparing the 2015 codes with the previously adopted 2009 codes found that an average home in Houston, for example, built to the new codes would save 8-11 percent annually, while a home built in Amarillo, for example, could save more than 20 percent on an annual basis.
Annual Electricity (kWh and $) by Measure and Climate Zone from new 2015 State of Texas Building Codes in Residential Construction as Compared to Compliance with 2009 Codes
Source: SPEER, DOE Field Study, Preliminary Information provided April, 2016
Similar numbers are found when comparing commercial buildings built to the 2009 versus the 2015 codes. ESL also found that by continually adopting more energy efficient codes, Texas has reduced nitrogen oxide pollution by hundreds of tons (due to coal and natural gas plants running less often). And these same energy savings also reduce carbon dioxide pollution.
Moreover, the new codes require more construction jobs: better windows, better lighting, more insulation—and more professional “testers” to ensure ducts and buildings don’t leak. Thus, these new codes help increase jobs for Texas companies that manufacture and provide these products and services.
There are also real on-the-ground studies. That is, actual measurements of homes built in Texas and analysis of how much real energy and money savings result from the main benefits of the new codes:
• lighting
• ceiling insulation
• better building envelope
• improved duct leakage
• improved wall insulation
The results are part of a U.S. Department of Energy funded eight-state study. In Texas, SPEER and SECO are working with the National Association of State Energy Officials to implement the study. The results: complying with building codes saves a lot of energy and money.
Using the data collected in the study, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory calculated savings for each of the three climate zones in Texas (assuming that the same number of homes will be built as in 2014, a conservative no growth scenario). They found huge savings—more than $15 million in one year. There are also large water and natural gas savings because of these measures. The same data estimates that Texans would save more than $7 million in natural gas savings over the course of a year by living in these new “improved” homes and save enough energy to mean a natural gas peaking plant will run efficiently using 10 percent less.
This year, the state of Texas will be updating minimum energy codes for all new residential, commercial, and state constructed buildings. This will mean less air pollution, less energy and natural gas wasted, more jobs, and more money saved.
The catch: We must make sure our cities get these codes implemented properly.