Over 119 Million People to Benefit From Advanced Energy Codes, Surpassing the Code on a Mission Challenge Goal

In December 2023, the International Code Council’s Code on a Mission campaign reached a significant milestone, surpassing the challenge’s goal to get over a third of the U.S. population (115 million Americans) covered by energy codes based on the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code® (IECC) or equivalent by the end of 2023. There are now over 119 million Americans across the nation who will benefit from modern energy codes based on the 2021 IECC.

The Code on a Mission challenge was issued to highlight the role buildings play in meeting community energy, resilience and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and the pivotal role of energy codes in helping to meet those goals.

The Benefits of the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) found that the 2021 IECC provides a 9.4 percent improvement in energy savings and an 8.7 percent reduction in GHGs for residential buildings over the 2018 edition—a nearly 40 percent improvement since the 2006 edition.

The 2021 IECC can save homeowners an average of $2,320 over the life of a typical mortgage. The 2021 IECC also provides site energy savings of 12.1 percent and a 10 percent GHG emissions savings for commercial buildings relative to the 2018 IECC.

In addition, a DOE report published in 2022 highlights the benefits of the 2021 IECC in response to the growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events attributed to a changing climate, such as cold snaps and winter storms.

The report finds that the IECC’s improved envelope efficiency in buildings can permit occupants to shelter in place safely during a disaster-induced outage for more than four days, extending habitability by as much as 120 percent during extreme cold and 140 percent during extreme heat. These improvements will ultimately reduce deaths by up to 80 percent during extreme heat and 30 percent in extreme cold.

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In addition to energy efficiency improvements that support energy and cost savings and enhanced resilience, the 2021 IECC contains updated provisions that improve usability and support communities interested in pursuing zero-energy buildings through new appendices.

Adopting Up-to-Date Energy Codes

Nine states have adopted minimum energy codes based on the 2021 IECC with several others having adopted equivalent base or stretch energy codes. Many localities across the country have adopted minimum energy codes based on the 2021 IECC to support their energy and climate goals.

Additionally, the U.S. federal government has incorporated requirements from the 2021 IECC into design requirements for their buildings and federally regulated manufactured housing.

More jurisdictions are expected to adopt the 2021 IECC throughout 2024.

To further this effort, numerous federal programs have been established to support the adoption and implementation of the 2021 IECC and forthcoming editions.

The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has already allocated $90 million to support modern energy code implementation through DOE’s Resilient and Efficient Codes Implementation (RECI) program, with more funding anticipated soon.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has also allocated over $900 million for DOE’s Assistance for Latest and Zero Building Energy Code Adoption program to support the adoption and implementation of the 2021 IECC and the IECC’s Zero Energy Appendices. More information on the grants programs is available on the Code Council’s Federal Grants webpage.

In support of the Code on a Mission challenge, the Code Council has developed a suite of resources to assist jurisdictions in their efforts to adopt updated energy codes located on a dedicated webpage.