ASHRAE Journal - January 2010 - 56

90.1-2007/2009 IECC, Equivalent or Better 90.1-2004/2006 IECC, Equivalent or Better 90.1-2001/2003 IECC or Equivalent 90.1-1999/2001 IECC or Equivalent 90.1-1989/2000 IECC or Equivalent Older or Less Stringent Than 90.1-1989/2000 IECC No Statewide Code Adoption By County/Jurisdiction Above State Mandated Minimum American Samoa Guam N. Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands As of 10/09 Figure 1: Adoption of Standard 90.1 into state building energy codes. Clarifying Requirements For State Energy Codes U By Ryan M. Colker nder the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed in February, some funds were tied to the adoption and enforcement of building energy codes that meet or ex- ceed Standard 90.1-2007 for commercial buildings and the 2009 IECC for residential buildings. The governors of all 50 states have since certified that they will work towards adoption of the necessary codes and develop a plan to demonstrate 90% compliance with the codes. Code Adoption. While ARRA, out of respect for the variations in state and local adoption procedures, includes no specific date by which states must adopt compliant building energy codes, the legislation does specify that state plans for demonstrating 90% compliance with the codes should be designed to achieve that compliance level within eight years from passage of ARRA, i.e., 2017. To ensure compliance with the law, it is in a state’s best interest to begin the process of adopting target codes (or better) as soon as possible. The measurement of ashrae.org In an effort to dispel inaccurate information on exactly what states must do as a condition of receiving the funding, leading organizations in the building community including ASHRAE, the International Code Council, American Institute of Architects, U.S. Green Building Council, most of the regional energy efficiency alliances, and the National Association of State Energy Officials released a statement clarifying the requirements. Key points in the statement include: • Achieving 90% Compliance in Eight Years Requires Prompt State 56 ASHRAE Journal compliance “each year” means states will need to begin assessing their rate of compliance with the target codes in February 2010. • Code Adoption Integral to Compliance. While there is not yet a published common means of measuring and reporting compliance with the target codes, we recommend assessing compliance with the existing codes. DOE is developing these common means. It is clear that unless a compliant building energy code addressing both residential and commercial buildings is adopted in the state, it will be extremely difficult to provide compliance statistics that are based on the target codes. • Training and Enforcement Essential to State Compliance. To achieve the required levels of compliance, training and enforcement must match the adopted state code or codes, so the process of adopting these codes in tandem with the development of such training and enforcement provisions is critical. The signing organizations have committed to provide assistance to state and local governments including code adoption, training in the operation of the codes and efforts at compliance and enforcement. Today, only a few states have adopted codes that meet or exceed the requirements (Figure 1). For a copy of the statement, see www.ashrae.org/recovery. Ryan M. Colker is ASHRAE’s Manager of Government Affairs in Washington, D.C. Up-to-date information on ASHRAE’s Government Affairs activities is available at www.ashrae.org/ advocacy. January 2010

ASHRAE Journal - January 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - January 2010