New Mexico Takes Significant Step Toward Ensuring the Safety, Efficiency and Resiliency of its Communities
With the adoption of the 2021 IECC, New Mexico joins communities across nearly 20 states covering more than a third of the U.S. population in providing its residents with state-of-the-art building design and performance.
On January 17, 2024, the New Mexico Construction Industries Commission made significant strides toward ensuring its communities’ safety, efficiency and resiliency by voting to adopt the International Code Council’s 2021 International Energy Conservation Code® (IECC). This vote aligns with New Mexico’s efforts to embrace cleaner transportation options and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
With the adoption of the 2021 IECC, New Mexico joins communities across nearly 20 states covering more than a third of the U.S. population in providing its residents with state-of-the-art building design and performance.
“By adopting the 2021 IECC, New Mexico is helping ensure the health and welfare of its communities through improved air quality and lower utility bills,” said Code Council Chief Executive Officer Dominic Sims, CBO. “We commend the New Mexico Construction Industries Commission for prioritizing and leveraging building codes to improve energy efficiency within the construction industry.”
Benefits From Adoption of the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code
Resilience in the built environment starts with strong, regularly adopted and properly implemented building codes.
According to U.S. Department of Energy estimates, with the adoption of the 2021 IECC, New Mexicans will save 12% on their utility bills, which equates to $266 in energy savings annually.
“This update will ensure that the standards and codes for the process of energy efficiency in our state are understandable,” said New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department General Construction Bureau Chief Martin Romero, CBO. “This mandate will allow our state to be in accordance with current codes, and that the latest energy efficiency provisions are included taking into account the unique qualities of our state. These codes provide clarification in recognition of practical issues arising in the industry while ensuring more efficient energy savings.”
Adoption of the 2021 IECC will also reduce the statewide greenhouse gas emissions by over 20,000 metric tons in the first year and by 11 million metric tons over 30 years. For perspective, the 30-year emissions reduction is equivalent to 2.4 million passenger vehicles or 1.4 million homes.
The 2021 IECC promises to save residents and businesses money on energy bills and contribute to better construction quality and public health by curbing air pollution and mitigating the impacts of climate change.
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Additional information on energy efficiency and carbon reduction can be found here. More information on the 2021 IECC can be found here.
About the Author
The International Code Council is a nonprofit association that provides a wide range of building safety solutions, including product evaluation, accreditation, certification, codification and training. It develops model codes and standards used worldwide to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures.
