Executive Order 2011-1: New construction or renovations in excess of 25,000 square feet or $1 million shall meet or exceed current IECC energy code. Energy modeling is required to be conducted during the design process and third party commissioning is required in accordance with the recommendations of the Interagency Energy Efficiency Committee. Where practicable, all new construction projects shall include a renewable energy component in their design.
All Building Codes are reviewed as they are issued by the International Code Council, now a 3 year schedule.
The Building Code Review Board has authority to change and amend codes pursuant to RSA 155-A:10 V. Those changes must be ratified by the Legislature within 2 years to remain in effect. The PUC can no longer amend the energy code.
The statewide requirements are changed as needed; no definitive schedule is followed for updates. Local governments may adopt different requirements only if those requirements are more energy efficient than the state code. The entire process takes six months to a year to complete.
The local building official enforces the energy requirements. Compliance is shown by either 1) submitting a letter of certification for the building from a New Hampshire licensed architect or engineer to the town with a copy forwarded to the PUC or 2) processing an application for certificate of compliance through the PUC or the local building code official.
Plans are not required unless REScheck or COMcheck are used; only the EC-1 form 2010 New Hampshire Residential Energy Code Applicationshould be submitted if the applicant uses the prescriptive compliance path.
All plans must be submitted to the local building code official. If there is no code official, then the plans and a certificate of compliance application must be sent to the PUC for review and certification.
REScheck can be used to show compliance for residential buildings, and COMcheck for commercial buildings.
The original code was administered by the Governor's Council on Energy from 1979 to 1982. When that state energy office closed in 1982, administrative responsibility was transferred to the New Hampshire PUC. In 1990 the PUC was granted rulemaking authority over the code (i.e., ability to revise the code without an act of the legislature).
The original energy code for New Hampshire was enacted in response to PL-94-163. This enabling legislation was RSA 155:D, which applied to both residential and commercial buildings and was based on ASHRAE/IES Standard 90-75 and the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards "Code for Energy Conservation in New Building Construction" dated December 1977. RSA 155:C, which related to energy conservation in state-owned buildings, was later repealed. The residential standards and administrative sections of RSA 155:D were revised in 1986. The standards for commercial buildings were revised in 1993 to reflect the EPAct requirement for compliance with ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-1989.
New Hampshire adopted the 1995 MEC effective February 1, 1999.
New Hampshire signed a statewide building code into law on March 18, 2002. The mandatory New Hampshire building code adopts the 2000 IECC by reference, effective September 14, 2002, 180 days after the passage of legislation.
New Hampshire updated their statewide energy code from the 2000 IECC to 2006 IECC with amendments effective August 17, 2009.
The 2009 IECC became effective with amendments on April 1, 2010.