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ICC Election Week: Commercial Energy Code Change Highlights

By ANGLE Staff posted 11-02-2016 05:29 PM

  
2016%20ICC%20Conference%20logo.jpgFollow The Angle every day leading up to Election Day (November 8) for this series on the big upcoming vote Nov. 8-21 impacting our national model building codes. This post will be updated with links to subsequent posts as the Election Week series progresses.

Oct
. 31: ICC Election Week Kickoff | T
ODAY: IECC Commercial Energy | Nov. 3: IBC Structural | Nov. 4: IFC Fire
Nov. 7: AIA Voter Guide to ICC Online Vote | Nov. 8: Election Day Wrap Up 
Nov. 8-21: ICC Online Governmental Consensus Voting Period

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AIA members and staff were actively involved in a significant number of proposed changes to the commercial provisions of the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 through both the development of code changes (3) and public comments (12).

IECC%20logo.jpgHighlighted proposals: 

  • CE271-16Zero Energy Performance Index (zEPI) updates [withdrawn]
  • CE262-16Commissioning (Cx) standard denying architects opposed
  • CE5-16, CE8-16, CE19-16, CE21-16Code definitions and application consistencies supported
  • CE21-16ASHRAE Standard 90.1 maps updated
  • RE98-16Reports for energy storage opposed
  • CE259-16 Part IIGlazing standards in design standard buildings supported

zEPI%20chart.jpgAIA submitted CE271-16 to advance the path toward zero energy use in commercial buildings using the zEPI scale of zero to 100 and required compliance at 50. Because of conflicts with other proposals made to the performance method for compliance, and the modifications that would be necessary to coordinate the code, our changes for zEPI were withdrawn from consideration. 

AIA also was very actively involved with the ICC Sustainable Energy High Performance Code Action Committee (SEHPCAC) efforts with four active members participating on the committee and attending the hearings. Two AIA members were the chair and vice-chair of the committee for the 2018 cycle. 

A change (CE262-16) that specifically could affect architects involved a commissioning agency standard. The original change required all commissioning agents to be certified by an agency meeting an ISO standard that was merely a guideline. Most significantly, as part of the original change, architects were not allowed to do commissioning whether or not they had the experience and knowledge to provide such services. They were required to obtain the same certification. 

A modification was proposed at the public comment hearings to allow registered design professionals to perform the certification services, but the ISO standard remained unchanged and the modification was not approved, so the final vote will only be to deny the change as the committee had, or to approve the change as originally proposed. 

Hands%20raised.jpgOf the changes SEHPCAC submitted, many had to do with consistency within the various parts of the code on terminology. They supported updates (CE21-16) to the maps based on ASHRAE Standard 90.1 documents. Changes (RE98-16) that would require additional reports regarding energy storage were successfully opposed at the public comment hearings as not advancing the objectives of the code.

Requirements for improvement of glazing requirements in design standard buildings (CE259-16 Part II) were also approved at the public comment hearings.

 

David S. Collins, FAIAAIA Codes and Standards Committee Member

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PCH Links: Monograph | Report | Searchable Results | cdpACCESS (if you don’t have a MyICC account, create one and log in)

You can also get directly involved with the AIA Codes Advocacy Program!

 

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