Building Code News From Around the Nation

The following building/energy codes, reporting requirements, or specifications are coming soon to a community, state, or county near you.

Detroit, Mich.

In late November 2023, the City Council unanimously approved an energy and water benchmarking policy for existing buildings. The new benchmarking policy requires all municipal buildings, as well as commercial and multifamily buildings over 100,000 gross s.f. (GSF) to annually report their energy and water usage, beginning in 2024. 

Commercial and multifamily buildings between 25,001 GSF and 99,999 GSF will have an extra year to report their energy and water consumption data.

This is part of an overall new strategy from the City. The Detroit Climate Strategy outlines four core strategies and concrete actions to help Detroit reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The strategies are:

• Transition Detroit’s energy supply to clean energy;
• Increase access to sustainable mobility options;
• Accelerate energy efficiency and reduce waste;
• Help communities, with a focus on the most vulnerable residents, adapt to a changing climate.

The 2025 deadline is June 1.

North Carolina

In late March, HB 488 was introduced in the State House of Representatives. This sweeping bill would halt the state’s update of the 2009 energy conservation code until at least 2031, as well as block new standards for thicker insulation, more efficient lighting, and other energy-saving features in new homes. 

The proposed legislation also dilutes the power of the governor by creating a new Residential Code Council to govern residential construction. The proposed Council would give 3 of 13 seats to residential contractors, but none to energy efficiency experts. (The Governor would be allowed to appoint one member from the public-at-large, so there is an opportunity to bring in someone with energy efficiency expertise.) 

The legislation also exempts all one-story homes from fire sprinkler requirements, and all attached and detached garages from the energy conservation code. 

There is also a carve-out, whereby “routine exterior sheathing inspections” do not need to take place if the building is located in a region where the ultimate wind speed is less than 140 MPH. (So much for resiliency in a state that sees all manners of tropical depressions/storms and hurricanes. It’ll be interesting to see if that affects new homeowners’ insurance rates.)

Finally, the legislation has a slightly confusing section (b22 d) whereby it stipulates that residential code reviews will be spaced 6 years apart. In one sentence, it states that the first six-year review will become effective on January 1, 2031. Later in that section, it calls for a review of various codes by January 1, 2026. 

It appears they want to slow walk the review/revision to the “implementation desk”. (This will have the state rival places like Indiana for slowest code adoption cycle in the U.S.) Though just in case it wasn’t clear how slow they want to go, Section 8 is titled “Prohibit Further Energy Conservation And Efficiency Amendments To The North Carolina State Building Code Until 2026.”

HB 488 passed the House in early May, passed the Senate in late June and was then sent to the Governor. The Governor vetoed the bill in early July, just 10 days after receiving it. The State Legislature then took 5 weeks to rally enough votes to override the veto and passed it on August 16.

Colorado

In mid-April, a new state law was signed by the Governor that will ban installation of new nonfunctional turf (such as ornamental grass), invasive plants, and artificial turf. 

The purpose of the ban is to reduce water use since climate change has brought drought conditions to the state. The law will take effect January 1, 2025 for state government properties and January 1, 2026 for all other properties except parks, sports fields, playgrounds, and residential properties unless managed by homeowners’ associations. It does include medians, parking lots, and along roads.

Illinois

The Illinois Capital Development Board voted on April 9 to approve the Draft Illinois Stretch Energy Code. The Residential Stretch Code is based on the 2021 IECC with amendments to ensure the site energy indexes in CEJA are being met. The Commercial Stretch Code is based on the 2024 IECC Final Draft with amendments to ensure the site energy indexes in CEJA are being met. The stretch code rules were published in early June 2024, and should be available for adoption by October 31, 2024.

The drafts are available here.

EPA WaterSense

Version 2.0 of the EPA’s Specification for Tank-Type Toilets has been released. This is the first update since the WaterSense labeled product requirements were created in 2007. 

The effective flush volume calculation has been removed from dual flush toilets due to customer confusion over which flush uses less water. The new maximum flush volume requirement is 1.28 gallons per flush for both single flush toilets and the full-flush mode of dual-flush toilets.

The new requirements go into effect July 1, 2025.

Minnesota

In mid-May, the state passed an omnibus bill that directs the state to adopt a new residential energy code every three years. That edict goes into effect in 2026. The updated codes must move incrementally towards a goal of reducing annual net energy consumption by 70% or more by 2038.

This new directive takes two positive steps forward. First, it shortens the code update cycle from six years to three. It also gives the state a timeline and a target, whereas it previously had neither. Finally, this update had been a long time coming. 

The state’s last energy code update occurred nine years ago, when it moved to the 2012 IECC.