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| Stimulus Money and the 2009 Energy Codes |
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| Written by Andrew Thiess |
| Friday, 17 July 2009 00:00 |
 Here is an update on federal stimulus money and the adoption of new 2009 energy codes in Texas:At the federal level, on February 17, 2009 President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law. This law made a lot of money available for energy programs in Texas - $327 million for "Weatherization", $219 million for the State Energy Program (SEP), and $209 million for "Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program" (see http://www.energy.gov/texas.htm). One of the conditions of receiving the federal SEP grants was assurance that the state would adopt residential and commercial codes that meet or exceed the 2009 IECC and ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007, as well as plans for achieving compliance rates with these codes of 90% in new and renovated residential and commercial buildings within 8 years. On March 23, 2009, Governor Rick Perry sent a letter to the secretary of the Department of Energy, stating "SECO is currently evaluating the adoption of the versions of the codes and standards referenced in the ARRA for residential and commercial buildings" (see http://www.energy.gov/media/Perry_Texas.pdf). SECO is the State Energy Conservation Office, run under the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, which will be charged with administering the $219 million SEP, as well $46 million in block grants and a $23 million energy star appliance rebate program. As the next step in assuring the stimulus money, on March 9, 2009, House Bill 2783 was introduced in the Texas State Legislature. The bill stated: "Beginning January 1, 2012, the energy efficiency provisions of the International Residential Code, as it existed on May 1, 2009, is adopted as the energy code in this state for single-family and duplex residential construction...Beginning January 1, 2012, the International Energy Conservation Code, as it existed on May 1, 2009, is adopted as the energy code in this state for all other residential, commercial, and industrial construction." The bill was approved unanimously by Democrats and Republicans alike in the house and senate committees, but was stalled on June 1 when Lt. Governor David Dewhurst "refused to recognize the bill's authors to move it forward due to political differences with the speaker of the house" (see http://bcap-energy.org/node/403). Under existing rules, any changes to the state energy codes must be reviewed by SECO and the Texas A&M Energy Systems Lab (ESL) prior to adoption. The proposed changes were put out for public comment in April 2009, and groups such as the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) and The Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club recommended against adoption of the 2009 IRC in its current form, recommending instead the adoption of the 2009 IECC for single family homes, as the IECC is stricter in many key areas. Stay tuned next month for a discussion of the changes contained in the 2009 IECC and 2009 IRC! For information on Overland Assessments, contact: Andrew Thiess, RAS, PMP, PE phone: (832) 250-2899 e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . www.overlandassessments.com |
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Three Texas Locations
League City, TX (Galveston)
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League City, TX 77573
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