IMT is the principal investigator for several U.S. Department of Energy-funded initiatives related to energy code compliance through the Building Energy Code Program. Learn about some of our work below.
Arizona Residential Energy Code Study
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded IMT a grant in June 2019 to launch a study aimed at understanding Arizona’s statewide residential energy code compliance and to design and conduct a training, outreach, and education program to help close any gaps in compliance. The expansion of data collection to Arizona will result in a greater understanding of residential construction issues in hot, dry climate zones, and compliance issues in home rule states where an article or amendment to the state constitution grants cities, municipalities, and/or counties the ability to pass laws to govern themselves as they see fit, so long as they obey the state and federal constitutions.
Utah Residential Energy Code Study
The DOE also awarded IMT a grant in June 2019 to launch a study aimed at understanding Utah’s statewide residential energy code compliance and to design and conduct a training, outreach, and education program to help close any gaps in code compliance. The expansion of data collection to Utah will result in a greater understanding of residential construction issues in dry climate zones.
Commercial Energy Code Field Study
Launched in October 2016, the commercial energy code field study seeks to develop and test a methodology for assessing energy savings from building energy codes and associated compliance support. The project focuses on office and retail buildings in Florida, Iowa, and Nebraska. Like its residential counterpart, the commercial study involves plan review and field inspection to verify to what extent energy efficiency measures comply with relevant building code requirements. These findings, in turn, will be used to identify implementation barriers and to quantify the potential for increased energy savings from improved compliance. Furthermore, beyond the research results in themselves, the project will also deliver tools and methods—including training materials for field inspectors, data forms, and approaches for statistical sampling and data management—that utilities and energy efficiency agencies might use for similar studies in other states in the future.
