# Green codes, energy codes & DOE???



## jpranch (Feb 17, 2011)

Here we go folks. Ready for a merger of the IGCC & IECC?

*Requesting Input to IgCC Proposed Changes*

The U.S. Department of Energy is hosting a gathering on *April 14, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m*., at the Holiday Inn (550 C Street SW) in Washington, DC, to discuss DOE's proposed changes to the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), as well as all other changes proposed to Chapter 6 (energy) of the IgCC. The purpose of this activity, as has been done in the past on the IECC, is to explore opportunities to foster collaboration in advance of the IgCC hearings.

*Input on DOE's proposed changes is encouraged and can be provided at **http://www.energycodes.gov/development/IgCC/**. *

The International Codes Council will conduct hearings on the IgCC from May 16 through 22, 2011, in Dallas, Texas, for consideration of the proposed changes. The complete set of all 1400 proposed changes to the IgCC will be available from the ICC in mid-March.


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## packsaddle (Feb 17, 2011)

icc is so stupid.

can't they see the federal government is using them as a tool to force their green agenda on the public?

the sad part is that they do see it, and are willing accomplices.


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## jpranch (Feb 17, 2011)

Follow the money trail. Mark my words the the green code / energy code (energy already is) will be incorprated / ingrained into the IRC, IBC, IPC, IMC, etc... within the next 3 to 5 years. This will make code adoption so hard that jurisdictions will have amendments ranging from 10 to 1,000+ pages. Don't think so??? Ya, right.


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## texasbo (Feb 17, 2011)

Nope. Don't adopt the green code, don't adopt the energy code, make compliance with any state or federally mandated code the responsibility of the applicant and/or designer, and delete the energy provisions from IRC and IBC. Three or four amendments at most. Put it back on the idiots that try to mandate it. Same thing we've done for years, along with the BS accessibility provisions. Sorry, I'll not carry the feds albatross. Enough is enough.


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## Mule (Feb 17, 2011)

texasbo, new energy regulations go int affect April 1st of this year for Texas. Are you aware of that????


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## texasbo (Feb 17, 2011)

Mule said:
			
		

> texasbo, new energy regulations go int affect April 1st of this year for Texas. Are you aware of that????


I am.

"On September 1, 2005, Texas adopted the 2003 IECC for state-funded residential construction, and ASHRAE 90.1-2004 for state-funded commercial construction. In 2007 HB 3693 authorized a code review cycle coinciding with the release of each new edition of the IRC and IECC. The Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) is authorized to adopt the new codes if they will result in improved energy efficiency and air quality, based on the analysis and recommendations of the Energy Systems Lab at Texas A&M University. In June 2010, SECO officially adopted updates to both the commercial and residential codes. The new code for single-family homes, which is based on 2009 IRC, will take effect January 1, 2012. The new code for other residential, commercial, and industrial buildings, which is based on 2009 IECC, will take effect April 1, 2011.

For buildings other than state-owned buildings, energy codes must be adopted by local code jurisdictions to be enforceable. Such adoption is normally achieved through a vote of the city council or the local government adoption process. Depending on the form of government, the mayor may be required to sign the law. Most local jurisdictions adopt either the Standard or Uniform Building Codes as their building code, but a few adopt the National Building Codes (NBC). The energy codes or standards are usually adopted by reference in the applicable building code (e.g., the MEC is adopted by reference in the NBC and in an Appendix of the SBC and UBC). For state-owned or -funded buildings, the provisions are adopted through the state's administrative process of publication, public comment, and hearings."

I am required to adopt provisions for enforcement of the energy codes. I am not required to adopt the codes themselves, because they are adopted by the state. My provisions for enforcement, per our adopted ordinance, is to make the applicant/designer responsible for compliance.


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## texasbo (Feb 17, 2011)

I attended a local ICC chapter meeting a couple of years ago, and a plans exminer from an adjacent city was literally in a panic. He asked the group how they were enforcing the energy code regarding attic insulation under mechanical equipment catwalks, since the catwalks compressed the insulation to a thickness less than required by code.

This was a city that was completely clueless as to the requirements of the State of Texas Engineer's Practice Act, and the State of Texas Architect's licensing Law. Both of these laws require municipal enforcement. They had no idea that an engineer's seal was required for commercial buildings with a clear span of over 24 feet, or that an architect was required for public buildings, commercial buildings over 20,000 square feet, or for significant changes to an exiting system. I knew this because we had recently conducted a survey of enforcement of these state laws. These are laws that directly affect life-safety of the public.

I could not believe how priorities could be so screwed up.

I am an avid muscle car collector, and as I often do on Friday's, just to keep the gaskets fresh,  I had driven one of my vintage cars to the meeting, a 1968 SS Camaro. I have to run the carbs pretty rich for the high compression engines to survive on pump gas, even with octane booster. Because of this, they pump a lot of sh!t into the atmosphere. On this day, I let the Camaro idle in the parking lot until temp redlined, just to counteract anything that came from this moron's efforts to meet the energy code under freakin' mechanical access walks.


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## Frank (Feb 18, 2011)

There is a federal DOE study project in progress to evalute compliance with the energy codes that involves evaluating local department's plan review and inspection processes and auditing a number of projects in each state for plans and as installed compliance with the IECC.  The goal is 90% compliance as installed.  The 90% of what is not defined.


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## Mule (Feb 18, 2011)

texasbo said:
			
		

> I am an avid muscle car collector, and as I often do on Friday's, just to keep the gaskets fresh,  I had driven one of my vintage cars to the meeting, a 1968 SS Camaro. I have to run the carbs pretty rich for the high compression engines to survive on pump gas, even with octane booster. Because of this, they pump a lot of sh!t into the atmosphere. On this day, I let the Camaro idle in the parking lot until temp redlined, just to counteract anything that came from this moron's efforts to meet the energy code under freakin' mechanical access walks.


Me too..sort-of. I've got a 56 Chevy 2dr ht with a 330hp 350 in it. lot's of fun to drive.


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## conarb (Feb 18, 2011)

I drive around in a 550 hp supercharged Hummer, the Greenies in their Priuses give me the finger on a daily basis, I was parking in Berkeley one day and a long-haired Hippie  with iPods hanging out of his hair gave me his finger held up as high as he could reach as he rode by, as he passed he looked around still holding his finger above his head to see if I was seeing his gesture, he fell off his bicycle, I laughed like Hell and no, I did not go over and help the ******* up.


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## texasbo (Feb 18, 2011)

I love this forum.


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## Wooly (Feb 18, 2011)

Texasbo, political correctness is the ability to pick up a dog dropping from the clean end.

At a conference a couple of years back I had some DOE people tell me that they were going to give the ICC until the 2012 code to bring the energy standards up to their liking or they were going to take them over and mandate it.  I guess the bluff worked.


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## jpranch (Feb 18, 2011)

Tell the fed's this!

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/17/montana-governor-authorizes-wolf-kills/

I know, I know. Just a little bit off topic? Think about it.


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## jpranch (Feb 18, 2011)

The fed's. I just love what the Governor of the great state of Montana told the fed's yesterday.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/17/montana-governor-authorizes-wolf-kills/

If that is not a finger to the east then I don't know what is. I just hope Wyoming, Idaho, and perhaps Colorado?... have the stuff (wanted to say other) to follow suite. Same with green and the rest of the BS. Tired of the fed's jamming crap down our throats. And if you think the cow is not in on this you are mistaken.


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## Architect1281 (Feb 20, 2011)

Conarb Congratulations for driving the vehicle that has a lower carbon footprint from minimg to rust than the Prius

the greenies keep forgrtting the darn batteries.

My favorite advertisement from 2005 for a hybrid vehicle is for DODGE CHARGER HYBRID

http://www.autoblog.com/2005/08/27/dodge-introduces-charger-hybrid-kind-of/


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## jpranch (Feb 20, 2011)

conarb: "the greenies keep forgrtting the darn batteries".

I love batteries! What do you think powers them? COAL! In this country coal is king. Sooooooo, LA, D.C. (The the state that is not) Keep it coming. Back on topic. The icc / ANSI A117.1 was incorparated into the ibc a long time ago. What makes anybody think green and energy will be any different? Be preparied to be bent over the fence rail. Bet you don't even get kissed?


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## conarb (Feb 20, 2011)

JP:

We were hearing that you Wyomingites were going to cover your state with those giant windmills to sell the rest of us electricity, but you are being tripped up by the environmentalists over a sage grouse:



			
				Newsweek said:
			
		

> President Obama wants to double production of  renewable energy by 2012, but a chicken-sized ground bird is tripping up  progress. In the last century, the sage grouse—known for its iconic  spiked tail -feathers—has been decimated by mining, ranching, and, most  recently, the development of the rural West for wind farming. The bird  won't mate near turbines, say biologists, and it's trapped on particular  parcels of land by something of a mental block on crossing roads and  under power lines. But since the grouse is concentrated in parts of the  country's windiest states, an unusual green-vs.-green face-off is  occurring, with the alternative-power lobby clashing with bird lovers  like the Audubon Society.Now the fight may be entering a new  stage. The Department of the Interior has moved to protect the sage  grouse under the Endangered Species Act, casting doubt on wind  development across the West. While specific restrictions won't be  announced for at least a year, states are making preemptive changes to  please the feds. Wyoming, one of the windiest states, has proposed  writing off 3 million acres in hopes of boosting the bird's numbers,  while Montana and Idaho are mulling similar measures. "The grouse," says  Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal, "has the potential to cripple our  economy."¹


I love "Green vs. Green" legal fights, we should give them all guns and let them fight it out amongst themselves and leave the rest of us alone.

¹ http://www.newsweek.com/2010/03/26/a-hitch-for-wind-power-in-wyoming-and-the-rest-of-the-west.html


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## Code Neophyte (Feb 21, 2011)

Frank said:
			
		

> There is a federal DOE study project in progress to evalute compliance with the energy codes that involves evaluating local department's plan review and inspection processes and auditing a number of projects in each state for plans and as installed compliance with the IECC.  The goal is 90% compliance as installed.  The 90% of what is not defined.


Frank: I believe I was contacted by a third party consultant (who I believe was working on exactly this project).  Do you have any more information on this?  Wondering if anyone else has been contacted, as well???


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## Frank (Feb 21, 2011)

It is a nationwide push

http://www.energycodes.gov/arra/reaching_compliance.stm

This article is angling for $810 million funding

http://www.imt.org/files/FactSheet-EnergyCodeComplianceFunding.pdf

IL RFP

http://bcap-ocean.org/news/2011/january/11/meea-issues-rfp-measure-illinois-energy-code-compliance-rate

Which state are you in?


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## Code Neophyte (Feb 21, 2011)

Bingo - I'm in Illinois.

Thanks for the info., Frank!!


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## mtlogcabin (Feb 22, 2011)

> There is a federal DOE study project in progress to evalute compliance with the energy codes that involves evaluating local department's plan review and inspection processes and auditing a number of projects in each state for plans and as installed compliance with the IECC. The goal is 90% compliance as installed. The 90% of what is not defined.


I was contacted late Friday by the state energy people and told that as part of the energy stimulus money the state accepted conditioned upon adopting the 09 energy code (which we did) The ICC was providing 8 classes throughout the state to teach inspectors, contractors and designers about the code. That's ok but the other part was they would also review our records and plans and inspections for compliance and advise us on how we may be able to improve those areas. Sound like the DOE & ICC are in cahoots in a sneeky way

When I find out more I will pass it on


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## Frank (Feb 23, 2011)

From my inbox this morning

Request for Information (RFI)

February 22, 2011

DOE Seeks Advocacy Assistance

DOE's Building Energy Codes Program (BECP) is seeking individuals or firms capable of providing advocacy assistance to States to help them overcome barriers to upgrading their existing building energy codes or adopting energy codes where they have not previously existed. Applicants should have experience in creating support structures for adopting updated energy codes at the state and jurisdictional level, and the ability to encourage both regulatory and grass roots support for code adoption. The RFI has been issued by Battelle Memorial Institute, Pacific Northwest Division, operator of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. A formal Request for Proposal is anticipated to be issued in March 2011.

The RFI is posted on FedBizOpps.gov and will be available until March 2. The RFI includes details on the information being sought at this time.

The Building Energy Codes Program would like to continue sending you information about energy codes and compliance tools; however, if you would like your name removed from our contact list, you may unsubscribe at any time. Please contact our online helpdesk if you need immediate assistance; this mailbox is hosted by an automated system.

RFI link

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=49b17c9ddb390e55241d0c7faaeb5685&tab=core&_cview=0


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## Mule (Feb 28, 2011)

jpranch said:
			
		

> Tired of the fed's jamming crap down our throats. And if you think the cow is not in on this you are mistaken.


Texas has a bill before the legislation right now that will prevent unfunded mandates on city's.


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## fatboy (Feb 28, 2011)

"I just hope Wyoming, Idaho, and perhaps Colorado?... have the stuff (wanted to say other) to follow suite."

We'll have to see what our new Gub'ner does. The last one had totally bought into it. State mandate to adopt as a minimum, the 03 IECC. Then, the feds tied ARRA funding to adopt most recent IECC. Politics in play, I had to adopt the 09 IECC.

But, having been at the last three code change hearings, that is the mantra from the feds, continue to beef up the IECC, or they will create their own energy code to cram down our throats.


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## righter101 (Feb 28, 2011)

Try ours

Come to Washington State.  We have, I believe, the most restrictive EC in the country.  The newest version is being battled out in court for a variety of reasons.

It's frustruating because I am charged with enforcing something I don't fully support.

I guess this is more of a vent than anything useful.

Thanks to the forum.


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