Florida’s New Train-The-Trainer Program Launches

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Kamaria Greenfield

The Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA) and the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) have teamed up to prepare building code trainers to deliver effective energy code training for the Florida construction industry. The organizations developed a curriculum in early 2015 and held the first train-the-trainer series in late February. The train-the-trainer session’s purpose is to introduce the curriculum, training techniques, and valuable skills to new and existing local trainers as...

DOE’s Three Year Residential Energy Code Field Study

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Kamaria Greenfield

In September 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced eight states that would participate in a three year Residential Energy Code Field Study. The states include: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Kentucky, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas. Through the project, DOE plans to establish a sufficient data set to represent statewide construction trends and detect significant changes in energy use from training, education and outreach activities. The study comprises three main sta...

Outreach to Architects in Pennsylvania

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Kamaria Greenfield

by Maria Ellingson, BCAP As often the first point of contact with prospective owners of new homes and buildings, architects are a key influencer in determining the level of energy efficiency that is included in new construction and major renovation projects. But architects have been largely absent from an important issue that’s left Pennsylvania unable to adopt an updated building code. The process for adopting the state building code - the Uniform Construction Code (UCC) - is currently de...

The City Energy Project Assessment Methodology For Energy Code Compliance In Medium To Large Cities

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Kamaria Greenfield

The City Energy Project Assessment Methodology is designed to assist cities in identifying residential and commercial energy code compliance issues and help identify the areas they should focus on in order to improve their compliance rates. The methodology helps cities identify common areas of non-compliance as well as the causes of non-compliance. Compliance information collected as part of the study can also contribute to larger statewide compliance studies. Strategies to compliance are contai...

Building a Stronger Local Energy Code Network in Oklahoma and Texas

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Kamaria Greenfield

More people in Oklahoma and Texas will soon enjoy the benefits of a stronger local energy code community through the work of twelve newly-certified Energy Code Ambassadors. These volunteers will work under the auspices of the South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER), the newest regional energy efficiency organization. In December 2014, SPEER doubled the number of its Energy Code Ambassadors from the previous year’s inaugural class. John Umphress, Building Code ...

What Have We Done Lately?

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Kamaria Greenfield

BCAP asked the National Energy Codes Collaborative:What have we done in 2014? Approval for DOE National Energy Codes Conference in Nashville, TN Determinations ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2013 (final) 2015 IECC (preliminary) HUD 2009 (preliminary Compliance Initiatives Circuit Rider in Florida, Massachusetts, Rhode Island Utility programs in Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Rhode Island Collaboratives in Minnesota, Oklahoma Baseline studies in Colorado, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio C...

Energy Codes Get It Done

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Kamaria Greenfield

If every state began 2015 with the 2012 IECC for residential and commercial construction and moved from 60% compliance to 100% compliance by 2030, how much would the cumulative source energy savings, energy cost savings, and carbon emission reductions be in 2030? Using the energy data provided by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and BCAP’s Energy Code Calculator, BCAP calculated the estimated savings and reductions in each state. Cumulative State Savings (view full-size v...

The Carrot Or The Stick? Navigating The Balance In Strategies For Improving Energy Code Compliance

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Kamaria Greenfield

Written by Ryan Meres and Seul Rhee Energy efficiency advocates, governments, utilities, and others that fund energy code compliance initiatives often question whether enforcement or training and outreach are more effective at driving higher compliance rates. The answer isn’t obvious. Case in point: a recent energy code auditing initiative of New York City’s Department of Buildings is driving more stakeholders to meet the energy code, proving that more stringent enforcement increases...

Codes, Standards and Rating Systems

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Kamaria Greenfield

Are architects unaware of their legal obligations under licensure, or are they simply negligent? Maureen Guttman, AIA In the United States, national model energy codes were created in response to the energy and economic crises of the 1970s. In 1978, Congress passed the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, which required states that received federal financial assistance to initiate energy efficiency standards for new buildings. In 1992, Congress passed the Energy Policy Act (EPAct), which up...