Monday, July 15, 2013

I have been following developments related to new dynamic building codes, as a way of moving new home building and retrofitting toward peak energy efficiency practices.

The Buildings Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) recently released its 2012 Annual Report. With the creation of the National Energy Codes Collaborative, groups have ensured the future success of code adoption by maintaining strong lines of communication and coordination among the many entities working to advance dynamic building energy codes, according to the Alliance to Save Energy.

It took no fewer than eight organizations to create this informal coalition to ensure better coordination and communication by sharing technical resources, knowledge, and best practices.

From January 2012 to January 2013, the number of states adopting the 2009 standards for residential construction grew from 22 to 28. BCAP staff will be continuing efforts to add more 2009 code adoptions in 2013, while assisting several states that are considering adoption of the most recent 2012 codes.

BCAP will also continue to build its new strategic direction by working with its partners to create practical solutions addressing barriers to energy code adoption and compliance.  

Those 2013 initiatives include:

• The application of energy codes in existing buildings;
• Raising energy code compliance rates through outreach to design professionals, code officials, and consumers to shape collective and holistic efforts towards building energy efficiency;
• Expanding collaborative and comprehensive partnerships with diverse stakeholders;
• Sharing these visions and resources with a wider audience through OCEAN and showing that energy codes improve building energy efficiency when stakeholders move forward together.

By continuing to hone its means of identifying Energy Star homes and products, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed the transition to new, more rigorous requirements for homes to earn the Energy Star label.

Homes certified under the new requirements are at least 15 percent more efficient than those built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and include additional energy–saving features to deliver a performance advantage of up to 30 percent compared to typical new homes.

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