2015 IECC Adoption, Compliance Make New U.S. Homes More Energy Efficient

Use of the newest edition of ICC’s energy code benefits code officials, home builders and homeowners

Adoption of the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) will make compliance easier for new homes that are inspected for an Energy Ratings Index (ERI) under the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) . As a result, code officials will have clear guidance on a home’s energy efficiency rating, homebuilders will undergo fewer inspections and homeowners will get an easy-to-understand HERS Index label that shows the efficiency of their new home. The ERI performance path gives builders another option to comply with the 2015 IECC. The HERS rating is the existing compliant ERI method and nationally recognized for inspecting and calculating a home’s energy performance.

The International Code Council (ICC) joined with RESNET the organization that created and certifies HERS ratings to help code officials and HERS raters work closely to achieve more efficient homes with less overlap and duplication of efforts. For more information on how the HERS Index applies to energy codes, view the video posted at http://bit.ly/1Cp7cMx.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) says use of the 2015 IECC would make new American homes about one percent more energy efficient than homes built to the 2012 IECC. While the increase in energy efficiency from the 2012 to the 2015 editions of the IECC is comparatively small, for states still using the 2009, 2006 or even an earlier code, the increase in energy efficiency could be as much as 30 percent.

The Code Council recommended DOE use a simple, checklist-style form for states to complete to ensure they have reviewed the new IECC, held a public hearing, and made a decision to update their state code or not, including reasoning as to why the decision was made. DOE indicated it would consider this proposal in efforts to monitor state compliance with the law requiring the state reviews. States have a two-year period to review the 2015 IECC and decide whether to update the state energy code to the level of the new code.

About us: The International Code Council is a member-focused association. It is dedicated to developing model codes and standards used in the design, build and compliance process to construct safe, sustainable, affordable and resilient structures. Most U.S. communities and many global markets choose the International Codes.