13
Energy Efficiency

The requirements for energy-efficient design are contained in a separate companion code, the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). This code volume must be adopted by local jurisdictions to allow its enforcement to accompany the International Building Code. Similar correlations occur with several other I-codes, such as the International Mechanical Code and the International Plumbing Code. For the purposes of this very short chapter, when we refer to “the code” we mean the IECC.

The building-design implications of energy conservation are contained in the IECC. The energy conservation requirements for mechanical and plumbing installations are typically contained in the mechanical and plumbing codes rather than in the energy code. Discussions of the energy-efficiency design requirements of the energy code, mechanical code, or plumbing code are outside the scope of this book.

Note that many states and local jurisdictions have adopted their own energy codes. These local codes may have quite different standards than this model code. As is the case for other possible local modifications, the designer should always verify the status of local code adoptions.

The calculations for energy use are inherently site specific. They depend heavily upon geography, climate, and local environmental conditions. Obviously a building that performs well in a hot, humid climate near sea level, such as in Florida, will have quite different environmental-control and energy-use patterns than a building in the hot, dry, high-desert climate of central Arizona. To clearly discuss the concepts of the energy conservation calculation methods and criteria in the code, one must know where the building is, what its function is, what type of construction it uses, and what type of mechanical systems it is to have.