Attendees Hear Latest on Energy Codes

The Regulatory Affairs and Marketing (RAM) Committee kicked off the second half of the day’s business with Committee Chair Garrett Stone, of Brickfield, Burchette, Ritts, & Stone, P.C., making a presentation about energy codes.

He provided a refresher on the importance of energy codes, and said that today there is substantial emphasis on energy codes to achieve national policy objectives.

Stone explained that modern national energy model codes incorporate NFRC procedures as the exclusive method for determining fenestration energy performance (SHGC and U-factor) for residential and non-residential buildings.

Then, he discussed increased residential energy efficiency requirements in the most recent International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), such as lower SHGC and U-factor in the south. The overall changes result in a 10-15 percent more efficient residential code compared to the 2006 IECC. He also noted that there are significant changes in the performance path.

Stone explained that there are increased energy efficiency requirements in current non-residential code, too, and further increases in commercial energy efficiency requirements are expected in the near future.

He also discussed the American Recover and Reinvestment Act of 2009, noting that there is a lot more activity in energy codes at the state level, happening in a lot less time, since the stimulus package took effect.