Program Highlights - October 2006
Welcome to the U.S. Department of Energy Building Energy Codes Program's (BECP) monthly newsletter. This newsletter provides the latest information on our work to increase the energy efficiency of the nation's commercial and residential buildings.
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 On the Road to the 2009 IECC Webcast
The BECP webcast "On the Road to the 2009 IECC," presented by Pam Cole and Todd Taylor of PNNL as well as David Weitz of Conservation Services Group, was broadcast October 26, 2006. A total of 577 attendees participated in the webcast.
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Beyond Code Advisor
The desktop Beyond Code advisor in COMcheck was launched this month, and traffic to the Resource Center nearly doubled (800,000 hits in October compared to 500,000 hits in September)
COMcheck 3.3.1 released
A minor upgrade to COMcheck version 3.3.1 corrected a number of user interface inconsistencies as well as several bugs in the HVAC cooling equipment input options. The MAC release also represented the first release of its kind because it offered Beyond Code advisor and RTF report support.
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Support was provided to the GAO
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) requested BECP's assistance to determine the energy efficiency impacts of using newer, more energy efficient residential and commercial energy codes for buildings in Louisiana and Mississippi being rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina. DOE approved the preparation of two reports for GAO - one related to residential buildings and one to commercial buildings. These reports will be utilized by GAO in their overall report on the impact of codes in the Gulf Coast, and DOE will publish these reports as well.
Working with ASHRAE Standard 189
BECP staff attended a working meeting of the ASHRAE Standard 189 committee in Danvers, Massachusetts. Standard 189, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, will be an ANSI-consensus standard intended for adoption as an energy code in progressive states and jurisdictions.
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Provided assistance to four states
- Louisiana and Mississippi
Analysis of the energy savings and cost effectiveness of adopting newer energy codes for Louisiana and Mississippi was prepared. This included analysis of changes from ASHRAE 90-75 to ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2001, ASHRAE/IES 90.1-1989 to 2001, and ASHRAE IESNA 90.1-2001 to 2004.
- Illinois
BECP analyzed the energy and economic impacts of adopting the 2006 IECC as the residential energy code in Illinois. The draft report was delivered to the point of contact in Illinois.
- West Virginia
A draft report on the impacts of the 2006 IECC in West Virginia was prepared. The final report is expected to be completed in November.
Technical support to users
BECP staff continued to respond to issues received through the BECP help desk. For the month of October, 328 issues were handled through Technical Support. The table below summarizes the number of user support cases by type for the month.
BECP website
The BECP website hits totaled 3,648,089 during October, which is close to a record for the year.
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October 26, 2006
The BECP webcast "On the Road to the 2009 IECC," presented by Pam Cole and Todd Taylor of PNNL as well as David Weitz of Conservation Services Group, was broadcast October 26, 2006. A total of 577 attendees participated in the webcast.
January 26-29, 2007
The ASHRAE Winter Meeting is planned for January 26-29, 2007, in Dallas, Texas. Staff from the Building Energy Codes Program will attend to support the development of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007 and to work with ASHRAE on code related issues in ASHRAE's Code Interaction Subcommittee of Standards Committee.
BECP provides a Calendar of Events that identifies buildings-related conferences and workshops as well as national energy code training and state energy code training conducted across the nation. Visitors to the website are encouraged to add upcoming events or training to the Building Energy Codes Calendar.
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