Efficiency First

At a meeting last week of the International Code Council (ICC), nearly 500 state and local government representatives voted to support a 2012 International Energy Action Code (IECC) that would significantly boost efficiency requirements for future construction. The ICC is a membership association that develops the codes and standards that form the basis of local residential and commercial building codes nationwide.

According to a press release from nonprofit Institute for Market Transformation, “the energy efficiency of America’s 2012 model energy code for new homes and commercial buildings will likely achieve the 30 percent boost sought by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of State Energy Officials, Congress and the broad-based Energy Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC).”

“This is a big deal,” said Cliff Majersik, Executive Director of IMT. “Most new buildings are built to the code – no better and no worse. These changes to the model energy code will slash pollution from power plants and furnaces while saving Americans billions of dollars in energy bills.”

To learn more about the ICC, go to www.icsafe.org.

Read the IMT press release at www.imt.org/files/FileUpload/files/IMT_FAH_PressRelease_FINAL.pdf.