Colorado Town Takes the Lead on Energy Code Compliance
8 MIN READ
Grand Prize and Small Jurisdiction winner: Hoffman Estates, Ill.
The village of Hoffman Estates, a suburb of Chicago, was recognized for its rates of over 90 percent for energy code compliance for the Illinois Energy Conservation Code for both residential and commercial construction projects. To help educate the local building community and residents about energy codes, staff of the code enforcement division built a demonstrate energy house and produced accompanying instructional videos to show how residential products such as windows, flashing, insulation, and venting should be installed correctly to best affect energy use. Using American Recovery and reinvestment (ARRA) funds, the code enforcement division saved staff positions on the verge of elimination, got five staff members certified as Building Performance Institute building energy analysts, and organized training seminars. To assist local residents, the building department subsidizes energy assessments for homes built before 1998.
As the grand-prize winner, Hoffman Estates will send its director of code enforcement, Don Glass, to the 2012 International Code Council Annual Conference in Portland, Ore., with IMT and GBPN sponsoring Glassâs attendance.
Large Jurisdiction winner: Pima County, Ariz.
The Pima County Building Safety and Sustainability Department was recognized for its collaboration with the local electric utility to identify two areas of weak energy code compliance. Identifying these areas of weaknesses as HVAC right-sizing and insulation installation, the department then reworked its inspection and permitting process and added training audits. Along the way, the county worked with the Alliance of Construction Trades as well as local organizations to improve outreach and keep costs low.
In addition, Pima County offers beyond-code programs such as the Regional Residential Green Building Program and the Net-Zero Energy Building Standard as alternative code-compliance paths.
More information on each winner can be found on IMTâs site. Entries for the next round of the Excellence in Energy Code Compliance Awards will be due in the summer of 2013 and entry details will be posted at imt.org in Summer 2013. All local and state code enforcement programs are eligible, including programs supported by utilities and those that depend on third-party enforcement.
The U.S. building industry has a history of resistance to change, with âThis is how weâve always done itâ as the motto for most constructions sites. My last contribution to this column focused on growing builder resistance to Energy Star v.3, especially the proper commissioning and testing of HVAC systemsâsomething youâd think the industry would do without regulatory coercion. The backlash, tor those of us wanting progress toward 2030 Challenge goals, comes as depressing, but not surprising news.
Todayâs story gives hope, and a powerful example of how one energy champion at one building department successfully turned the local building culture around to embrace best practices, setting a quick and dramatic course for energy code compliance and proof that it can be done.
The place is the town of Parker, Colo., and the energy champion is Gil Rossmiller, chief building official. When Rossmiller came to Parker in 2003, the community was still building under the 1997 Uniform Building Code. Bowing to political pressure, the town council had adopted the 2000 IECC, but the building department didnât enforce it. âThey couldnât even find the book,â Rossmiller recalled, âAnd when we did, the cellophane wrapping was still intact.â Amazingly, nobody had bothered to crack open the book to look at the townâs new energy code.
Rossmiller could not have started from a worse position, but like a corporate turnaround specialist, he managed to improve things so dramatically and quickly that he was recently recognized with the Excellence in Energy Code Compliance Award from the Institute for Market Transformation. Parker now enforces the 2009 IECC, along with the full suite of I-Codes, and will adopt the 2012 I-codes in January of 2013, breakneck speed in comparison to most jurisdictions that adopt model codes at least three years in arrears.
When I asked Rossmiller how the townâs builders were adapting to such dramatic change, he said, âItâs working wonderfully, they know they have to do it and weâve taught them how.â Rossmiller added that builders in Parker are not complaining about the issues dogging Energy Star v.3, because he not only requires basic energy code compliance, he enforces strict quality control standards that resemble Energy Star. âItâs not just me; equipment manufacturers have been trying to get the industry to do things right for a long time,â said Rossmiller. And itâs actually this approach that has persuaded local builders to get on board.
The backlash to Energy Star v.3 and by implication to similar requirements in the proposed 2012 and 2015 IECC comes by and large with the stricter design requirements, and proper commissioning and testing for HVAC installations. Since it makes basic sense to design and size systems correctly, and then verify they actually perform, Rossmiller instituted these requirements years before they were required by code. Despite some initial resistance to testing, seeing the results builders quickly discovered how badly their existing methods performed, and then quickly adapted to the changes. âThey all told me, âGil, we know how to run ducts and set up the equipment,â so I said, âOK, prove it,ââ recalls Rossmiller. But after testing, they asked for help and they got it. Rossmiller began running monthly training on site and in the classroom for contractors and inspectors. Today Parker boasts one the most highly trained and knowledgeable building communities in the U.S.
THE PARKER MODEL
The process in Parker gives hope, not only because it has succeeded, but how quickly is has done so. Our concern from the Vision 2020 perspective is not whether the building industry will adopt and improve, thereâs ample evidence this is occurring, the concern comes with when it will occur. We face a climate clock that may not allow us to evolve building practices slowly.
In August 2003, Rossmiller began holding monthly meetings to educate builders on 2003 International Energy Conservation Code. As a first step, the town had decided to concentrate on residential energy compliance because this would have the biggest impact in the community. Rossmiller took an incremental approach, starting with a focus on exterior flashing and water resistive barriers. Parker sponsored classes for builders and building department personnel taught by local suppliers of housewrap materials, which didnât cost the town extra money. The department gave builders a timeline for compliance and provided many jobsite trainings to help them learn. This went on for five months, and then the theme changed from pure education, to education plus expectations. âIf builders didnât detail the flashing properly, or install the weather barrier correctly, we failed them. Soon, they began to take us seriously,â said Rossmiller.
Once the building community began to get a handle on the envelope details, the focus shifted to insulation. As before, Parker sponsored classes, inviting insulation suppliers to teach builders to follow manufacturerâs installation requirements. âThe builders and trade contractors were amazed how well they could relate to all of the pictures of the unacceptable installation methods. Why? Because that is exactly what they had been accepting as ânormalâ installation for years and years,â said Rossmiller.
Once satisfied his builders understood the need for a well constructed and insulated building envelope, Rossmiller took the next step, but this one went one step beyond minimum code requirements. He gave builders one full year to learn how to properly design HVAC installations and prove they worked as designed through testing. Parker required builders to submit ACCA Manual J, S, and D calculations, with duct designs shown on the building plans before granting a permit. Parker also required duct tightness testing along with system commissioning that complied with manufacturerâs requirementsâin other words, exactly what Energy Star v.3 requires today. âWe were only asking them to prove the system was performing as designed,â said Rossmiller.
This was by far was the most difficult and time-consuming process in improving construction standards, said Rossmiller. âBecause we required duct tightness testing at rough-in [before the drywall goes up], the practice of using building cavities for return air ducts was not possible.â This resulted in ducted returns and the redesign of each home to accommodate the new ductwork, which was welcome news to the HVAC trade contractors, but not the builders. Rossmiller says that all the builders had to redesign their homes, some more than once, to achieve the standard. It caused friction at the beginning, but in hindsight, âMany builders and HVAC folks have told me it was a necessary step, and they would never go back the old HVAC systems,â said Rossmiller.
Meanwhile, even as the HVAC trade contractors were grateful for the space, âThey were not particularly excited when they realized that the Manual J calculations showed that they had been installing equipment that was twice the size required to satisfy the loads. How could equipment half the size still condition the space? The next year was filled with training sessions,â explains Rossmiller. He made hundreds of field visits to verify testing procedures and installations.
In the end, to help builders learn the process, Parker provided performance testing and free Home Energy Ratings. The building department worked closely with builders, creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and support. Over successive years, residential techniques were perfected and then the town turned its attention to the commercial building sector with the same type of strategy.
Today, the building department in Parker continues to offer training, currently preparing builders for their January 1 update to the 2012 IECC and full suite of I-Codes. Parker expects to continue adopting model codes every three years, one year following publication. Although Rossmiller admits that getting from the 1997 UBC to the 2012 IRC in less than a decade was arduous, the road ahead is not, âMost are building at 2012 standards or better already, and I expect the same in 2015.â
