___________________________________________________________________________

2013/SCSC/WKSP1/008

Green Building Codes – Commercial Buildings in the United States

Submitted by: United States

Workshop on Sharing Experiences in the Design and Implementation of Green

Building Codes Lima, Peru

5-7 March 2013

4/3/2013

1

GREEN BUILDING CODES –COMMERCIAL BUILDINGSIN THE UNITED STATES

Sharing Experiences in the Design and Implementation of Green Building CodesA Joint APEC-ASEAN Workshop, March 5-7, 2013 Lima, PeruSylvana Ricciarini, MSCE

1

OUTLINEIssues

• Rational - Green Building Codes

Policy and Regulations• Policies, Regulations Driving Green Building Codes and Standards

Approach• Holistic Approach

Solutions• Green Building Codes in the United States • Framework

Evolution

Final Overview

2

4/3/2013

2

RATIONALE – GREEN BUILDINGS

• Building Codes, ancient times. Code of Hammurabi• Tools - practical and adequate protection of human life, safety and welfare of the community

• Consistency and efficiency• Fundamental concepts: codes and standards

3

RATIONALE• Energy costs rise - governments focus on reduced greenhouse gas emissions

• Concerns on human welfare • Important momentum in the green-building leadership at state and local level

• Development of green building policies, and practices - public and private sectors-Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE); Rating Systems

4

4/3/2013

3

SPECIFIC POLICIES• Energy Policy Act of 1992 - states must adopt a building

energy code at least as stringent as ASHRAE 90.1• No penalties associated with non-compliance • Map at energycodes.gov or BCAP--http://www.energycodes.gov/status-

state-energy-code-adoption

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) extended requirement—all states certified they would adopt an energy code at least as stringent as ASHRAE 90.1-2010 and achieve 90% compliance by 2017. There is no clear enforcement mechanism

• There is, however, an incentive for states to do so. Eligibility for DOE State Energy Program Grant opportunities

5

POLICIES•Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) established energy management goals and requirements

•EISA (2007) definition of High-Performance Buildings- energy reduction goals for federal agencies

6

4/3/2013

4

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REGULATIONS DRIVING CODES AND STANDARDS

• Provisions considered as impacting the required “greenness” of buildings have already been incorporated into numerous federal laws and regulations

• As a Federal government designated environmental regulator, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has extensive regulations pertaining to “green” or “sustainability”

• Related acts and statutes include: Clean Air ActClean Water ActEndangered Species ActEnergy Independence and Security ActComprehensive Environmental ResponseEnergy Policy Act

7

HOLISTIC APPROACH • These acts and statutes govern land use, material use and conservation, water pollution, etc.

• Federal law mandates the use of ASHRAE 90.1 • As a result, many of the codes do not need to include these green features as they are mandatory by Federal regulations

• DOE - federal appliance standards• These are all minimum requirements/laws• NOTE: The federal government also employs a number of voluntary, “leadership” programs to achieve higher environmental sustainability (i.e ENERGY STAR, WaterSense.)

8

4/3/2013

5

GREEN BUILDING CODES IN THE UNITED STATES

• Refer to overall model codes system• Sectoral focus - dynamic infrastructure • Model Building CodesA model building code is a building code that is developed independent of a jurisdiction, by a private sector code development organization

9

CONSENSUS DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

• Openness• Transparency• Inclusiveness• Balance of interests to safeguard against special interest domination

• There are numerous code development organizations that conduct code development in accordance with these principles while having their own specific code development procedures

10

4/3/2013

6

11

NIST Standards in Trade Workshop (SIT) Program

PARTICIPANTS• Design professionals• Construction industry representatives• Trade associations• Manufacturers• Local code officials• Government agency representatives• Property owners • Insurance companies• Academics, and other stakeholders expressing interest

12

4/3/2013

7

ADOPTION PROCEDURES• The jurisdictional authority can utilize a model code by:

oAdopting it without change or,oAdapting it to accommodate local conditions and special requirements

•A model code has no force until it is enacted by a jurisdictional authority

13

ONGOING PROCESS• Model codes are “living documents” • Updated and changed by the code development organizations

on a periodic basis• Typically done through technical committees comprised of

professionals attuned to the latest technological developments and research findings

• Generally reviewed every three to five years• Rely on reference standards primarily for methods of

testing that determine the physical, functional, or performance characteristics of specific materials, products, and systems

• These standards also are developed in accordance with a consensus development process

14

4/3/2013

8

FRAMEWORK

15

• International Code Council (ICC)– International Green Construction Code (IgCC) – (2012)

• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 189.1 (2011) –Standard for the Design of High Performance Buildings –except low rise residential buildingsSustainable SitesWater Use EfficiencyEnergy EfficiencyIndoor Environmental QualityBuildings Impact on the Atmosphere, Materials and ResourcesConstruction and Operations Plans

16

GREEN BUILDING CODES

Accepted compliance path in IgCC

4/3/2013

9

IgCC AND ASHRAE 189.1• Written in mandatory code language• Intended for adoption and enforcement at the local and state level

• Not widely used in the United States• Typically not adopted as a replacement of a jurisdiction’s existing code, but used as a basis for certain incentives

• Building codes usually mandatory, minimum thresholds of performance that are enforced by law

• The recent trend of “green codes” blurs this issue because they are not always mandatory in a jurisdiction

17

IgCC AND ASHRAE 189.1• These codes adopt many similar green features that are also

found in:ICC: International Building Code (IBC), International

Mechanical Code (IMC), International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), International Plumbing Code (IPC)International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical

Officials (IAPMO): Uniform Mechanical Code (UMC) and Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC)

• In addition to these two codes, codes, standards and rating systems pertaining to green buildings and features are also developed by the private sector code and standard developing organizations and rating system organizations

• It is important to note that GREEN codes usually take things a step further to “high performance”

18

4/3/2013

10

STATE GREEN BUILDING CODES

•California state government is the first state in the United States to legislate its own green building code

• New York City Green Building Code

19

GREEN BUILDING RATING SYSTEM• Some local governments have integrated green building

rating systems into their local building codeso The Colorado state government has a law that requires new or

renovated buildings to be designed and built to a high performance green building standard

• Some city governments now require their new buildings and renovation to achieve green building certifications (such as USGBC LEED)

• Various legislations, executive orders, incentives, etc. are developed by many jurisdictions across the United States that address green building standards. See DSIRE(www.dsireusa.org ) for some incentive programs

20

4/3/2013

11

CODES AND STANDARDS – SECTOR SPECIFIC• ICC IECC contains extensive energy design requirements (for

building envelope, mechanical systems, service water heating, electrical power and lighting, renewable energy, commissioning etc.)

• Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings. ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1

21

SUPPLEMENT CODES AND STANDARDS• IAPMO - 2012 Green Plumbing and Mechanical Code

Supplement Acts as a resource to improve water and energy efficiency

over and above the provisions contained in the model codes. Acts as a repository for new technologies, encourages the use

of those technologies Supplements any of the model plumbing and mechanical

codes used in the United StatesRequirements for water efficiency and conservation for most

plumbing (potable, non-potable and gray water) fixtures and systems, HVAC systems, landscaping fixture and systems, irrigation fixtures and systems, heating (water and air) systems, renewable energy systems, and indoor environmental quality

22

4/3/2013

12

SOLAR SYSTEMS• IAPMO Uniform Solar Energy Code establishes the requirements of solar energy systems. The requirements address the design, installation and operation of solar energy system.

• Also covered for safety in the National Electrical Code (NEC) / NFPA 70

• Proposal to incorporate more into the IECC

23

SYSTEM DESIGNED TO WORK WITH STANDARDS

• There are other sustainability standards that various code and standard developing organizations developASTM International Standards: green roofs, life cycle

assessment, cleaning, maintenance, earthen wall, principles, water reclamation, wastewater, rainwater quality, etc. ASTM Sustainability committee -task groupNational Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Engineering Laboratory (EL): working on three sustainable manufacturing standards with ASTMUnderwriters Laboratories (UL): product-specific

sustainability standards include building materials and flooring, furniture and furnishings, cleaning products, electronics, office supplies, and many others

24

4/3/2013

13

25

NIST Standards in Trade Workshop (SIT) Program

SYSTEM EVOLUTION• The green code system continues evolving

• Provides market tools so that they can be adopted depending on social-economic-geographical needs

• Provides a proving ground for potential changes within the baseline codes and helps get the design and construction community prepared

• Training and education is a fundamental part of the system

• Importance of prioritizing low hanging fruits such as focus on EE efforts and on existing buildings, realizing that 90% of the building stock is existing buildings

26

4/3/2013

14

EVOLUTION• Difficult economic conditions have pushed states and

jurisdictions in the United States to prioritize their use of codes and standards to achieve their environmental concerns

• Today the market counts with codes and standards, other technical documents as well as significant research and efforts on best practices. Some examples include:

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has established a new Energy Efficiency Standardization Coordination Collaborative – ANSI/ESSCC group

27

EVOLUTION• While the science-based approach known as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

is beginning to be introduced into these systems, its application is limited to certain materials and resources used in a building

• The Contractor shall conduct LCAs on whole buildings meeting the criteria of Green Building Assessments (GBAs) systems for the purpose of measuring and comparing their environmental performance

• Specifically, the Contractor shall develop and document Life cycle Inventories (LCIs) and Life Cycle Impact Assessments (LCIAs) for buildings designed to comply with LEED v4, ASHRAE 189.1, and IgCC 2012

• The outcome shall be a report documenting and analyzing LCA-based measurements and comparisons of the environmental performance of buildings complying with the three major green building assessment systems

• The deliverables will be reviewed and incorporated by the NIST Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) into the Building Industry Reporting and Design for Sustainability (BIRDS) tool, which will be completed in FY13

28

4/3/2013

15

FINAL OVERVIEW• System with different levels - according to needs

• Fundamental: training and verification tools - commissioning

• Green codes have the potential to significantly change how we evaluate code compliance. Formerly, the job was done when the Certificate of Occupancy (CO) was issued, now there is a need to continue to monitor the operations and maintenance of the building as well.

• New York City is requiring energy data to be submitted that will help to benchmark energy use

29

THANK YOU….ricciarini@gmail.com

30