Residential Buildings Determinations - News Release

DOE Announces That The International Energy Conservation Code Will Make Residential Buildings More Efficient -- Designers, Builders, Owners, Code Officials, and the Environment Will Benefit

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced on January 4th that the Department of Energy has determined that the 2000 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) will substantially improve the energy efficiency of low-rise residential buildings if adopted by all the states.

"Provisions of the 2000 edition of the IECC will improve residential energy efficiency and make building code compliance simpler and easier for designers, builders, and code officials," said Secretary Richardson. "Buildings are more likely to have all the required energy efficiency features when the code is easy to use and interpret. And by reducing energy use, these codes will reduce power plant emissions and benefit the environment. If all the states adopt this upgraded model code, the energy savings would be substantial."

DOE determined that the 2000 IECC code would improve energy efficiency after comparing it with the 1995 Model Energy Code and the 1998 IECC, fulfilling DOE's mandate under the Energy Conservation and Production Act, as amended, to determine if successors to the Model Energy Code (MEC) will improve residential energy efficiency. Various editions of the Model Energy Code, or codes derived from it, have been adopted by 25 states. Due to this determination, states have two years to inform the Department whether it is appropriate to update their residential code to the 2000 IECC. If a state reports that it is not appropriate to revise its code, the state must explain why. However, States are not required to adopt the IECC code. States that inform the Department about their decision on updating to the 2000 IECC are excused from reporting their decision about adopting the 1998 IECC.

The Department offers a range of services and products to help states update, implement, and enforce building energy codes. State Energy Program grants provide states with resources to design and implement more energy efficient codes. DOE also provides technical assistance, including economic analyses, code comparisons, training on code compliance software, and other specialized support.