Several municipalities and counties in Northern Nevada recently joined states around the nation by adopting the 2015 IECC Energy Rating Index (ERI) compliance option. The state’s current residential energy code – the 2012 IECC – is still in effect, but has been amended in these locations to include an ERI compliance path and a 2009 IECC thermal envelope backstop. This path requires an ERI score of 63 or below, about 12% less efficient than the score of 51 required for compliance with the full 2015 IECC as written. However, RESNET has estimated that a home built to comply with the minimum prescriptive requirements of the 2012 IECC would achieve a HERS score of 70, about 7% less efficient than the scores required by Northern Nevada’s new compliance path.
The cities affected are Carson City, Fernley, Reno, and Sparks; the counties are Lyon, Storey, and Washoe. Just over 19% of Nevada’s population lived in these areas as of the 2015 US Census. Around 5,000 homes in Nevada received ratings last year, up from fewer than 2,000 in 2014, and the average score for homes rated in the state during this period was 62.
Read the specific amendments to the 2012 IECC here.
Read the full article from RESNET here.
Learn more about energy code adoptions in Nevada.
ETA: Although all three cities and three counties took part in the development of the Northern Nevada amendments to the 2012 IECC, only the city of Reno and Washoe County have posted ordinances adopting the new language.