Drumroll, Please: Results of the 2018 IECC Are In…

by Maureen Guttman, AIA The votes have been counted and while some folks will be happy with the results, others are very disappointed.  No, we’re not talking about the presidential election, but about the Online Governmental Consensus Vote that will determine the content of the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The bad news is that it appears that there will not be even a modest jump in the level of efficiency for the next energy code. Most of the proposals that woul...
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Your Vote is Needed – and Now It’s Easier Than Ever

Vote online to preserve energy efficiency provisions in the forthcoming 2018 codes. Every three years, hundreds of building industry members from states across the nation convene to develop the next U.S. model building energy code via a consensus process held by the International Code Council. The process, which includes code officials, architects, engineers, product manufacturers, builders and energy efficiency advocates, is designed to ensure that modern-day technology and building practices a...
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New Report Compares Cost-Effectiveness Methodologies As Congress Considers Requirements For Energy Code Updates

A significant proposal before Congress would require proposed energy code changes to be evaluated for their cost-effectiveness prior to inclusion in a code. The proposal before Congress designates simple payback as the principal basis for evaluating the cost-effectiveness of proposed energy code changes, but two other methods for determining cost-effectiveness are Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and Mortgage Cash-Flow (MCF). When assessing efficiency measures, it is important to include energy and cash sa...
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Forthcoming 2018 International Green Construction Code (IgCC) To Consolidate ICC And ASHRAE Standards

In a deal nearly two years in the making, the International Code Council (ICC) and ASHRAE have signed the final agreement that outlines each organization’s role in the development and maintenance of the new version of the International Green Construction Code (IgCC). The code, scheduled to be released in 2018, will include ASHRAE Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings developed using the American National Standards...
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What’s New in the 2015 IECC Commercial Provisions?

There was a lot of buzz around the residential provisions in the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) last year but not enough around the commercial provisions. So what are some major changes for commercial buildings in the 2015 IECC? Here is a summary: Increased Commissioning! One of the major changes to the 2015 IECC that would help improve code compliance is the scope of increased commissioning. In the new code, commissioning is applied to HVAC, all lighting systems including oc...
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Not Your Father’s Code Development Process

by Todd Sims, Institute for Market Transformation Who remembers logging onto AOL using the old dial-up modems? I am sure you can hear it now. It seemed like a good idea at the time and got the job done, but in in retrospect, the process seems comically slow and inefficient. You could say the same about the state of the model building code development process. The process used to require code officials to commit to a lengthy and expensive pilgrimage to code-geek Mecca: the International Code Coun...
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CdpACCESS: A New, Easy Way To Get Your Vote Counted

The International Code Council (ICC) had a problem: Its I-Code Development Hearings were growing longer at the same time that building department budgets and staffs were growing smaller. In 2011, ICC’s Board of Directors took action, forming a Steering Committee and charging them with the daunting mission of bring the complicated code development process into the electronic age to boost the participation of Governmental Members and other stakeholders. Last November, ICC rolled out its much...
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Code Officials Defeat Proposals To Rollback Historic Efficiency Gains In America’s Model Energy Code

Atlantic City, N.J., October 8, 2013 – Sound energy policy prevailed as local and state governmental officials rejected dozens of builder-sponsored home efficiency rollback proposals in a three-day marathon meeting convened by the International Code Council (ICC) to develop the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). “Today was a victory for America’s homebuyers,” said Bill Fay, Executive Director of the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC). “By dismi...
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New Model Energy Code Will Boost Energy Efficiency

The votes that will have the most profound impact on national energy and environmental policy this year were not held in Washington or a state capital, but by governmental officials assembled by the International Code Council (ICC) in Charlotte, NC," said William Fay, Executive Director of the broad-based Energy Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC). The ICC votes to improve the efficiency of the next edition of America’s model energy code governing home and commercial building constructio...
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