How to participate in the development of the next edition of the IgCC

The International Green Construction Code (IgCC) provides the design and construction industry with the single, most effective way to deliver sustainable, resilient, high-performance buildings. The 2018 edition of the code was released in November by the International Code Council, ASHRAE, the U.S. Green Building Council, the American Institute of Architects and the Illuminating Engineering Society and combines the technical requirements developed of ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES 189.1 — Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low Rise Residential Buildings with the model code administrative provisions of Chapter 1 by the Code Council.

Proposed changes to Chapter 1 of the 2018 IgCC were received by the Code Council on Jan. 14, 2019, as part of the 2019 Group B cycle. These changes are currently being processed by staff and are scheduled to be posted along with the remaining Group B codes on March 4, 2019. If you want to provide input in the development of Chapter 1, be sure to participate in the 2019 Committee Action Hearings, which will occur during the period of April 28 to May 8, 2019, in Albuquerque, N.M. In order to determine when the code changes will be heard, consult the hearing schedule, which is scheduled to be posted on Feb. 19, 2019.

In order to provide input on the technical content of the IgCC, you need to participate in the ASHRAE process. As a standing project committee, the ASHRAE Standing Standard Project Committee (SSPC) 189.1 updates the technical aspects of Standard 189.1. The “IgCC-powered-by-189.1” joint initiative frames the essential sustainable construction building blocks on which future resilient initiatives can develop and expand. With the recent publication of the 2018 IgCC, the effort to update the technical requirements of the code is on-going.

Anyone wishing to provide input on the technical content of the IgCC can do so by commenting on the draft addenda to Standard 189.1. Below are two announcements of addenda posted for public review. At the end of this piece is a link to access all such notices:

30-day public review | Feb. 1, 2019 — March 3, 2019

2nd Public Review ISC of BSR/ASRHAE/ICC/USGBC/IES Addendum b to ANSI/ASRHAE/ICC/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2017, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. This ISC would limit the use of the “Section 7.4.1.1.2, Alternate Renewables Approach: Reduced On-Site Renewable Energy Systems and Higher-Efficiency Equipment” to building projects that are less than 25,000 square feet. This threshold is the same as that for the simplified mechanical system approach for compliance with ASHRAE 90.1, which is also 25,000 square feet. Larger buildings will be able to comply with the standard by either complying prescriptively to the onsite renewables requirements in Section 7.4.1.1.1 or calculating trade-offs between energy efficiency and on-site renewables by using the performance approach in Section 7.5.

45-day public review | Feb. 1, 2019 — March 18, 2019

3rd Public Review ISC of BSR/ASRHAE/ICC/USGBC/IES Addendum bm to ANSI/ASRHAE/ICC/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2017, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. Addendum bm adds the option under the energy performance path in Standard 189.1 of modeling district energy systems that are not wholly contained within the project site boundary. This independent substantive change to the addendum makes changes to the language intended to improve clarity and correct some errors contained in the second public review ISC version.

The ASHRAE SSPC 189.1 met on Jan. 15–16, 2019, in Atlanta during the 2019 ASHRAE Winter Conference. In addition to discussion and action taken on draft addenda submitted by the respective work groups, the committee also discussed a significant change, which is being implemented for the next edition of the standard (which would also impact the 2021 IgCC). The committee is looking into dividing the standard into “core and above-core requirements” through the use of jurisdictional option entries into the respective chapters. This new change is analogous to the approach taken in Chapter 3 of the 2015 IgCC. Be sure to consult the draft addendum as it is posted for comment in order to comment on this new approach being implemented in the standard.

The ASHRAE SSPC 189.1 will meet again in June. The SSPC 189.1 meets monthly by conference call, in addition to two in-person meetings each year. The meetings are open. Click here to receive updates and notices of monthly conference calls and future meetings, public reviews (as noted above), approved and published addenda, and errata for Standard 189.1. through the ASHRAE Internet Listserv for Standard 189.1.

Year-round mobile engagement is also available through the ASHRAE 365 mobile app.

If you have any questions on the process to update the IgCC, be sure to contact International Code Council Senior Vice President of Technical Services Mike Pfeiffer, P.E., at mpfeiffer@iccsafe.org.