Building Energy Codes Leap Forward on Efficiency but Stumble on Electrification | Article

Every three years, the International Code Council (ICC) convenes hundreds of building scientists, homebuilders, state and local officials, and energy efficiency advocates to develop the latest version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The process is arcane and rigid; the debate gets heated. But in the end, after a year of analysis, writing, arguing, and sometimes yelling, the process results in the model code used by most states and many cities to regulate how our homes and commercial buildings consume energy.

The last such process—for the 2021 IECC—kicked off toward the end of 2018 and finally just concluded with a model code that is gangbusters for efficiency. Once the 2021 IECC is adopted, which could start early next year by leading-edge jurisdictions, it will deliver dramatic emission reductions while making our homes more comfortable, our offices more sustainable, and our energy bills more affordable. For example, new homes will be better insulated and feature better windows, while offering more “performance” options for builders to consider. The buildings sector accounts for about 40 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, which makes the 2021 IECC a potent policy to fight climate change.

How potent? Well, it is too early for the official estimates provided by the U.S. Department of Energy. But some back-of-the-envelope number-crunching suggests that homes built to this code could be between eight and 14 percent more efficient (depending on climate zone) compared to the 2018 IECC. Commercial and multifamily buildings might see 10 percent efficiency improvements. Those are massive gains, about an order of magnitude greater than what the two previous versions of the code delivered. And, in terms of emission reductions, we could be talking up to 50 million metric tons in cuts by 2030, according to the Energy-Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC).

(Full disclosure: before the author joined the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, he wore two hats at the Alliance to Save Energy: vice president for policy and executive director of the EECC, which means his name appears on a lot of the now-approved code provisions.)

But the story of the 2021 IECC is not all rainbows and lollipops. Following the massive turnout of ICC voters who overwhelmingly approved more than two dozen efficiency and electrification proposals, the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) and Leading Builders of America (LBA) mounted an aggressive campaign to appeal and overturn the results and preserve the status quo (i.e., no increase in efficiency). Even though the appeals were based on shaky logic, the threat was real because of shady dealings between NAHB and ICC in the past that helped prevent efficiency gains. In the end, the ICC board of directors caved in to NAHB, LBA, the American Gas Association (AGA), the American Public Gas Association (APGA), and the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute and struck down five proposals:

two that would require new homes and commercial buildings to be wired to accommodate electric vehicle chargers,
one that would require new homes to be wired for electric appliances, and
two that would require higher-efficiency gas furnaces and water heaters.

Even though 20 efficiency proposals made it through the appeals and into the 2021 IECC, the tone and tenor of the appeals were disappointing. NAHB, for instance, cast aspersions on state and local government officials who participated for not “understand[ing] the impacts or consequences of proposals or their votes.” The ICC board of directors second-guessed their own voters, too, and the jurisdictions they dutifully represent, which seems at odds with their stated belief that “participation in the Online Governmental Consensus Vote is the best way to ensure the Code Council family of codes reflects the needs of the communities represented.”

The 2024 IECC development cycle will start in 2022, so there will be another opportunity to improve efficiency through the code as well as advance building electrification and decarbonization. But ICC has already signaled its intent to revisit the code development process, including by reviewing which organizations are eligible to vote on proposals and how to take into account the cost of proposals. Until then, efficiency advocates like EECC, the Institute for Market Transformation, and the Natural Resources Defense Council will be laser-focused on helping jurisdictions adopt the 2021 IECC (and adding back the electrification proposals removed at the behest of NAHB, LBA, AGA, and APGA) to start racking up those critical greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Author: EESI Executive Director Daniel Bresette