Issue link: http://digital.corporatepress.com/i/186210
code talkers Current Trends in Commercial Energy Codes By James J. Sebesta, P.E., Robert Diemer, P.E., and James Ierardi, P.E. I n his 2013 State of the Union address President Obama pledged to double energy efficiency by the year 2030. His strategy for accomplishing this, based on a report from the Alliance to Save Energy entitled "Energy 2030," encourages federal, state, and local officials to make policy decisions that will unleash investment in energy productivity while simultaneously increasing energy security. The report recommends, among other measures, that jurisdictions "steadily and aggressively increase the stringency of building energy codes, with quick adoption and effective compliance measures." ADOPTING ENERGY CONSERVATION STANDARDS Mandatory energy requirements were introduced into model building codes in the 1970s following the crisis brought on by OPEC oil embargoes. Starting in 1978 the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) began requiring any state receiving federal financial assistance to adopt energy conservation standards for new construction. The potential for condensation in building assemblies resulting from new insulation requirements resulted in the introduction of vapor barriers and mandatory ventilation for uninsulated attics and crawl spaces. The adoption of federal efficiency standards for appliances improved HVAC equipment performance, and building codes incorporated these requirements. Incremental increases in required thermal properties for envelope components gradually became standard practice in successive editions of the code, and in 2012 the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) introduced a requirement for building thermal envelope sealing to limit infiltration, often referred to as an "air barrier." Buildings consume approximately 40 percent of the energy used in the U.S., and efficiency is widely recognized to be the most effective means for containing demand and reducing use. Institutions of higher education make up a significant proportion of building area and annual energy and facility-related costs in the United States. The national model energy code applicable to commercial construction such as educational facilities is the IECC, which allows compliance with ASHRAE Standard 90.1 as one option for commercial buildings. The recently published 2012 IECC achieves an approximate 15 percent increase in efficiency over the 2009 edition, and incorporates additional dimensions for efficiency such as the air barrier. The 2012 version achieves this higher level of performance through requirements for more insulation, a tighter envelope, tighter ducts, windows and skylights with higher solar heat gain coefficients and lower U-values, and more efficient lighting. INCREMENTAL METHOD While examples of net zero energy buildings and passive house construction establish a high bar for building performance, the incremental method of increasing requirements in the IECC may be approaching the limits of current technology and effective payback. A new edition of the IECC is scheduled to be published every three years, however past increases in efficiency are unlikely to be replicated in future energy code editions without significant innovations in building technology. A code requirement for net zero energy commercial buildings currently appears to be a distant likelihood, however building technology could follow in the footsteps of smartphone evolution with the right mix of regulatory incentives and market demand. The International Code Council published the first edition of the International green Construction Code (IgCC) in 2012, which takes a different and more aggressive approach to energy efficiency and also regulates other dimensions of sustainability in the built environment. Central aspects of the IgCC include extensive requirements for commissioning, automated demand response infrastructure and monitoring requirements, and mandatory Facilities Manager | september/october 2013 | 55