United States Energy Building Codes

The United States building codes related to energy are energy codes and standards that set minimum requirements for energy-efficient design and construction for new and renovated buildings that impact energy use and emissions for the life of the building. Buildings account for 39% of United States energy use, two-thirds of electricity, and one-eighth of water.^[1] With buildings being such a main source of energy usage in the United States, along with the surrounding issues associated with high energy usage it is imperative that buildings abide by codes to ensure efficiency. Using more efficient methods and materials upfront when constructing the buildings will help to cut down on energy usage. There are building energy codes for both commercial and residential buildings.

Types of Energy Building Codes

As for the types of codes, there are 3 different kinds. There are the private sector codes, federal sector codes, and international codes. The private sector codes are associated with state and local jurisdiction. States and local jurisdictions have different energy codes that they follow based on climate, geography, and many other contributing factors. The two primary baseline codes for the private sector are the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), and the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1 energy standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings (ASHRAE 90.1).^[2] States and local governments adopt and enforce these energy codes. The standards are published by national organizations such as ASHRAE. The International Code Council (ICC) develops the codes and standards used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools.^[3] Within the ICC is the IECC which is a subset of the ICC. The IECC is a model energy code, but it is written in mandatory, enforceable language, so that state and local jurisdictions can easily adopt the model as their energy code.^[4] The IECC references several ASHRAE Standards, in particular the ASHRAE 90.1 for commercial building construction.

Federal sector energy building codes are nationwide and must be followed by every state and local jurisdiction for federal buildings. Federal commercial buildings must abide by the final rule established in 2007 based on ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004. This final rule applies to new Federal commercial and multi-family high-rise residential buildings. The final rule is based on an interim final rule with a few changes based on public comment.^[5] The new changes include:^[6]

• Clarifying applicability of the new Federal building standards
• Clarifying the distinction between a "new" building and a major renovation "new Federal building" specifying that a building is a new building if it is completely replaced from the foundation up
• Including a minor modification to permit energy efficiency better than the maximum level that is cost effective
• Excluding process loads (e.g., medical or industrial equipment) from the energy savings metric and establishing definitions of "receptacle load" and "process load."

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