The Role of Energy Codes in Public Policy. A White Paper by the Northwest Energy Codes Group

Transcription

1 The Role of Energy Codes in Public Policy A White Paper by the Northwest Energy Codes Group December 2008

2 Driven by concerns about global climate change, policymakers at the national, state and local levels are focusing on energy codes as a powerful tool to reduce energy use and associated environmental impacts. While this increased awareness is welcomed by those who work with energy codes on a daily basis, there appear to be fundamental gaps in policymakers understanding of what energy codes can and cannot accomplish. This paper is intended to fill those gaps, thereby providing a basis for well-crafted public policies that use energy codes to their best advantage while avoiding unrealistic expectations or unintended negative consequences. 1. Energy Codes Do Not Determine A Building s Energy Consumption Energy codes establish legal minimums for some but not all energy-related features of new and significantly renovated buildings. The main areas regulated by energy codes are: Building envelope: - Roof, wall, and floor insulation levels - Window, door, and skylight performance - Air leakage Mechanical systems: - Space heating, space cooling, and water heating equipment efficiency - Mechanical system controls - Duct and pipe insulation Lighting systems: - Lighting equipment efficiency (for permanently installed fixtures) - Lighting system controls Even within these areas, the criteria and application can be limited. For example, most air leakage requirements only call for caulking and sealing. A comprehensive approach would call for testing to verify air leakage. What energy codes do not regulate is equally or more important. For example, they do not regulate appliances and plug loads. In a codes context, appliances are defined as anything governed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Appliances and Commercial Equipment Standards Program. This program sets nationwide minimum efficiency standards through public hearing processes as required by federal legislation. Critically, the federal legislation prohibits individual states from adopting more stringent standards. The program covers not only what we normally think of as appliances such as refrigerators and clothes washers, but also residential and commercial furnaces, heat pumps, water heaters and air conditioners, commercial clothes washers, linear fluorescent lamps, boilers, walk-in coolers and freezers, and more.. 1 Plug loads refer to any energy consuming item that is brought into a building or home after construction is finished. Examples of plug loads are computers, copiers, printers, refrigerator and freezer cases in supermarkets, cooking equipment in restaurants, desk and floor lamps, space 1 For a complete list of what is covered and the various pieces of authorizing legislation see 1

3 heaters, pottery kilns, washers and dryers, the now ubiquitous large flat screen TVs and very large commercial equipment such as an MRI machine in a hospital. 2 Depending on the type of building, how it is used and the amount of equipment it contains, appliances and plug loads often account for 25% of a building s total energy consumption and can be as much as 50% or more, especially in hospitals and laboratories. Energy codes do not control fundamental aspects of design that strongly impact energy use such as building orientation and layout. Finally, energy codes do not regulate what are probably the major determinants of a building s ultimate energy use: Construction and installation quality Equipment maintenance Building operations Occupant behavior. The most energy-efficient design will not save any energy if the construction contractors do poor work, such as incorrectly installing windows so they leak or creating ductwork so contorted that air can barely move through it. And no matter how well any building feature is installed originally, its performance will degrade over time if it is not maintained. More than anything, of course, the performance of a building is dependent on how it is used by the occupants and the people who control and maintain the energy systems. Lighting left on during unoccupied hours consumes energy without serving any useful purpose. Space cooling systems without controls set to take advantage of outside air for free cooling will sacrifice unnecessary energy. The most efficient space heating system will use large amounts of energy if the thermostat is set to 85º in the winter. Doors and windows left open will render the best insulation irrelevant, and a teenager taking thirty-minute showers will offset attempts at reducing energy for hot water. Energy codes control none of this. 2. Changing Energy Codes Does Not Automatically Increase Designers and Builders Knowledge The U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Congress, state governors, mayors, the 2030 Challenge, the American Institute of Architects and many engineering, environmental and energy organizations are strongly promoting the adoption of energy codes that are up to 30% more stringent than those currently in place. From a technical perspective, there is no problem writing such a code and, if the political will exists, getting it adopted. There are many examples of buildings that already meet or exceed this 2 There is no perfect delineation between appliances and plug loads. I introduce both terms because they are both commonly used and they do not completely overlap. 2

4 level of performance and more are being built all the time. The New Buildings Institute and ASHRAE 3, among others, have published guides that show how to achieve energy savings 30% below code for many types of buildings. On the other hand, it is safe to say that the vast majority of buildings are still built to just meet the energy code. Research has documented that a substantial portion of buildings in most jurisdictions don t even comply with all the provisions of the applicable energy code. The critical implication of this situation is that the vast majority of design and construction professionals have little or no experience creating buildings that would meet an aggressive new code, and it is unreasonable to assume that they will be able to instantly adapt to a new, much higher benchmark. Policymakers are often unaware of this because much of the advocacy they hear for more stringent energy codes comes from the progressive designers and builders who already create buildings that would meet such a code. The conclusion is that significantly more stringent codes should be adopted but that any policy promoting such adoptions must be coupled with extensive education, training and follow-up technical assistance for all design and construction professionals as well as the building officials who must enforce the code. Ignoring these needs will result in lower compliance rates meaning that the full energy savings specified in the policy goals will not be achieved. The timetable for implementation (i.e. the period between adoption of the code and the time it goes into effect) must also be considered. The larger the jump from the current code to the more stringent new code, the more education and training that will be needed and the sooner it will have to begin to allow practitioners to integrate it into upcoming projects. To minimize confusion, it is always desirable to have the effective date for energy code updates be the same as updates to other building codes. 3. Code Enforcement is Key Building codes, such as fire, structural and electrical codes were originally developed to safeguard occupants; building officials have therefore (justifiably) always thought of themselves as protectors of the public. Energy codes are a relatively recent addition to the family of building codes and do not have the same immediate connection to public safety. Perhaps because of this, many jurisdictions have given them lower priority when allocating resources to enforcement. As energy codes are increasingly relied upon to address climate change, building officials and their staffs will need to change this attitude and place enforcement on the same level as the traditional codes. City mayors and other elected officials will need to consistently communicate to their building departments that energy code enforcement is a priority. They must also allocate sufficient resources to allow their code officials to enforce the energy code without making the officials feel that they are shortchanging the fire, life and safety codes. 3 ASHRAE is the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, an organization with more than 50,000 members working on building energy-related topics. 3

5 4. Energy Savings From Codes Are Not Free Policymakers enthusiasm for energy codes seems to be driven in part by a perception that the savings are free, meaning, from their perspective, that tax dollars are not required to create or adopt a more stringent code. Such thinking does not take into account the above-mentioned education and training which is necessary to achieve energy savings and which will have a significant cost. Beyond public dollar costs for adoption and enforcement, there may be a cost to constructing more efficient buildings that will have to be borne by the owners or passed on to the buyers. Experienced developers and builders have learned to reduce these costs, sometimes to zero even for buildings that are 30% more efficient than code. But for those just starting out there is no way to avoid increased spending. From a public policy perspective, however, increased costs to developers and builders must be weighed against the benefits of reduced utility bills for people occupying more efficient homes and buildings. These reductions will eventually pay for the increased purchase cost of the building, often within a few years. Further, there are long-term benefits to communities from providing local jobs for energy-efficiency compared to distant jobs for construction of power plants. Overall, there is a basic conflict in the current relationship between energy code economics and energy code policy. The policy intent is to reduce carbon yet the value of the carbon reductions cannot be captured by building owner or developers because carbon markets, which will monetize the value, have not yet been established. Policymakers must be sensitive to this problem when developing policies to avoid backlash from businesses who see no way to recoup increased investments in energy efficiency. Conclusions Energy codes have an important role to play in reducing energy use in homes and buildings. They are, however, only one of many areas that need to be addressed if public policy goals--such as significantly reducing carbon emissions in buildings or creating zero energy buildings--are to be achieved. Any policy promoting more stringent energy codes must allocate sufficient resources to education and training of design and construction professionals to assist them in modifying their practices to meet the new code. Building officials must also be trained and elected officials need to make it clear to them that enforcement of the energy code is a priority. * * * Comments and questions about this paper should be directed to David Cohan, Codes and Standards Manager at the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance. He can be reached at dcohan@nwalliance.org or x231. The Northwest Energy Codes Group is composed of energy codes practitioners with the common goal of improving energy efficiency, saving energy, and reducing carbon emissions through the adoption and proper implementation of increasingly stringent energy codes. 4