Provisions Adopted into 2015 IgCC Can Assist Progressive Communities Meet Energy Goals

Cities and states looking at energy-efficient buildings to help meet energy goals are getting a boost from the 2015 International Green Construction Code. Four critical proposals that will drive significant improvements in building energy performance were adopted after final voting on the model energy code closed last month. While energy codes often represent the minimum efficiency standards a building must meet by law, the IgCC is a “green” code that provides progressive jurisdictions a mechanism to achieve a cleaner energy mix, more energy-efficient buildings and lower energy costs across the energy grid. Buildings are responsible for 40 percent of carbon emissions in the U.S. and in some cities represent as much as 80 percent of greenhouse gases.

One notable new section of the IgCC represents an historic shift in the way we approach building energy-code compliance. The outcome-based compliance pathway sets energy-use targets by building type and climate zone, with the goal of actually achieving expected energy results rather than relying on prescriptive measures or predicted models that may not yield actual energy savings.

The pathway allows for greater innovation in energy efficiency by offering the flexibility to move beyond component-by-component requirements to system-level savings opportunities. It also reduces the burden on code departments to enforce complex code requirements.

New Buildings Institute joined with an assortment of industry representatives, including the National Institute of Building Sciences (Institute), Building Owners and Managers Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, Institute for Market Transformation, International Association of Lighting Designers, Illuminating Engineering Society, Grundfos, Target Corporation, Green Building Initiative and the Colorado Chapter of the ICC to educate the industry, which helped to convince the IgCC committee and the ICC membership to favor the proposal.