Together, the Leading Builders of America–which represents 20 of the nation’s largest builders accounting for 40 percent of the new single-family homes market–the Institute for Market Transformation, the Britt/Makela Group and the Natural Resources Defense Council have proposed a change to the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) that would result in significant energy savings, while providing more flexibility to builders. In total, over 100 small builders and other businesses large and small that have a stake in new home building and energy efficiency have already joined in supporting this proposal.
What are we proposing?
The proposal (RE 188-13 with modifications that were jointly sponsored) would establish a new voluntary performance compliance path for the 2015 IECC: in addition to the option of prescriptive compliance and the current performance path, builders will have the option of complying by meeting the mandatory requirements, including the water heating provisions, and then meeting the target “Energy Rating Index” (ERI) score. The ERI score is defined as a numerical score where 100 is equivalent to the 2006 IECC and 0 is equivalent to a net-zero home. The current HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating is compatible with the ERI requirements in the proposal so a builder could utilize a HERS rating to comply using the ERI path.
In addition, the builder must comply with the envelope requirements of the 2009 IECC as a mandatory minimum. These include minimum insulation and window performance. Download the PDF to read more about this unprecedented agreement.
