DENVER AMENDMENT PROPOSAL 2015 INTERNATIONAL CODES

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1 DENVER AMENDMENT PROPOSAL 2015 INTERNATIONAL CODES UPDATED DEADLINE: JANUARY 9, 2015 NOTE: Each proposed Denver amendment to the International Codes must be justified. In order to be considered, the amendment proposal must address climate, clarity and/or cost. 1) Submitter Information Name: Robby Schwarz Date: 1/8/2014 Organization (if EnergyLogic, inc. applicable): Phone: E mail address: robby@nrglogic.com 2) *Signature: * I hereby grant and assign to City and County of Denver all rights in copyright I may have in any authorship contributions I make to City and County of Denver in connection with this proposal. I understand that I will have no rights in any City and County of Denver publications that use such contributions in the form submitted by me or another similar form and certify that such contributions are not protected by the copyright of any other person or entity. Note: electronic signatures are acceptable. 3) Indicate which International Code (I Code) you propose to amend (please use acronym): 2015 IECC If your code proposal requires an amendment to another I Code, please indicate which other I Code and section(s) is impacted, and provide the necessary language within the proposal form. See section below for list of names and acronyms for the International Codes. 4) Be sure to format your proposal and include all information as indicated on pages 2 3 of this form. 5) Send your proposal to Community Planning and Development (CPD), attention: Jill Jennings Golich, via at jill.jenningsgolich@denvergov.org. An e mail submittal should include an electronic version saved with a file name as follows: 2015_public_amendment_proposal_Codname_SectionReference, where Codename_SectionReference is replaced using the code and section being proposed (for instance 2015_public_amendmnet_proposal_IBC_Section312 ). The only formatting necessary is BOLDING, STRIKEOUT AND UNDERLINING. Please do not provide additional formatting such as this will be done by CPD. Please use a separate form for each proposal submitted unless as allowed in 3) above. Note: All amendment proposals received will receive an acknowledgment, and will be posted on the Building Code website to allow the public review. Please check here if a separate graphic file is provided. Graphic materials (graphs, maps, drawings, charts, photographs, etc.) must be submitted as separate electronic files in either PDF, JPEG or TIF format (300 DPI minimum resolution; 600 DPI or more preferred) even though they may also be embedded in your submittal. Acronym DBC AP IBC IECC IEBC IFC IFGC IMC Code Name Denver Building Code Administrative Provisions International Building Code International Energy Conservation Code International Existing Building Code International Fire Code International Fuel Gas Code International Mechanical Code Acronym IPC IRC NEC Code Name International Plumbing Code International Residential Code National Electrical Code

2 AMENDMENT PROPOSAL Please provide all of the following items in your amendment proposal. Your proposal may be entered on the following form, or you may attach a separate file. However, please read the instructions for each part of the amendment proposal. Code Sections/Tables/Figures Proposed for Revision: 2015 IECC section R Testing Proposal: R Testing. The building or dwelling unit shall be tested and verified as having an air leakage rate not exceeding five air changes per hour in Climate Zones 1 and 2 and three air changes per hour in Climate Zones 3 through 8. Testing shall be conducted in accordance with ASTM E779 or ASTM E1827 and reported at a pressure of 0.2 inches of w.g. (50 Pascals). Where required by the code official, testing shall be conducted by an approved third party. A written report of the results of the test shall be signed by the arty conducting the test and provided to the code official. Testing shall be performed at any time after creation of all penetrations of the building thermal envelope. Exception: Attached or stacked dwellings sharing one or more fire rated separations walls, floors, or ceilings, shall achieve an air leakage rate not to exceed 4 air changes per hour in Climate Zones 3 through 8. Where approved by the code official, Guarded blower door testing, using multiple blower doors, shall be permitted to ensure that air leakage is measured from/to the outdoors and not from/to adjacent attached units. During testing: 1. Exterior windows and doors, fireplaces and stove doors shall be closed, but not sealed, beyond the intended weather stripping or other infiltration control measures. 2. Dampers including exhaust, intake, makeup air, backdraft and flue dampers shall be closed, but not sealed beyond intended infiltration control measures. 3. Interior doors, if installed at the time of the test shall be open. 4. Exterior door for continuous ventilation systems and heat recovery ventilators shall be closed and sealed. 5. Heating and cooling systems, if installed at the time of the test, shall be turned off. 6. Supply and return registers, if installed at the time of the test, shall be fully opened.

3 Supporting Information: The following items are required to be included. Purpose: The purpose of this change is to allow an exception to the 3 ACH50 air leakage requirement for Residential attached dwellings. Reasons: Many residential attached housing projects are being built within the city of Denver and many of them are currently being built to Energy Star standards. It is inherently more difficult for attached housing to reach the code required 3 ACH50 due to the disconnect between fire code and energy code and the party wall designs that are so leaky but required to be used. In addition, attached housing is generally smaller that single family homes and it is more difficult to for smaller volume homes to achieve lower ACH requirements. Our work with Energy Star and jurisdictions that are currently on the 2012 IECC has demonstrated the difficulty of meeting the 3 ACH50 envelope leakage rate required by the IECC. We have seen successful implementation of achieving 4 ACH50 and recommend allowing this exemption for attached housing and keeping the 3 ACH50 requirment for single family homes. Substantiation: EnergyLogic s testing data has determined that the average air tightness of the single family homes that we work on in Colorado is approximately 2.5 ACH50 while the multifamily homes we work with are averaging just under 4 ACH50. Bibliography: The proponent shall submit a bibliography when substantiating material is associated with the amendment proposal. The proponent shall make the substantiating materials available for review.

4 Referenced Standards: List any new referenced standards that are proposed to be referenced in the code and provide a minimum of one electronic copy. Should the amendment proposal be recommended for inclusion in the amendment package, you must provide two hard copies.

5 Impact: Discuss the impact of the proposed amendment and answer the three questions below on the impact of the amendment proposal. The proposed amendment creates a situation that is more achievable for builders of attached dwelling units. It does slightly lesson the efficiency of the units but it allows time for the Energy Code and the Fire code to get out of miss alignment and figure out solutions that will work for both codes. Effect of the proposed amendment on the cost of design: Increase Reduce X No Effect Effect of the proposed amendment on the cost of construction: Increase Reduce X No Effect Is the amendment proposal more or less restrictive than the I Codes? More X Less Same Departmental Impact: To be filled out by CPD/DFD Note: The department shall indicate one of the following regarding the impact of the amendment proposal: Effect of the proposed amendment on the time to review: Increase Reduce No Effect Effect of the proposed amendment on the cost of enforcement/inspection: Increase Reduce No Effect