A simple truth: the Commonwealth of Virginia (its businesses, its citizens, its built environment, …) is an energy hog with mediocre (perhaps even dismal) energy efficiency.
- The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) ranked Virginia 29th in the nation.
- According to WalletHub, Virginia’s Home Energy Efficiency Rank is 35th … out of 48 assessed states.
Simple truths behind those numbers are one of the reasons why legislators made sure to include substantial energy-efficiency measures in the Clean Economy Act (VCEA). While the VCEA sets a better path forward, it isn’t comprehensive across all the economy and its measures don’t relieve other parties’ responsibilities for acting responsibly in the interest of the Commonwealth and its Citizens.
So much that matters in our lives is shaped out of sight, out of mind for most of us. When boarding a plane, we assume that the plane’s design has been improved and there are inspectors out there making sure it’s safe to fly. The same is true with so much throughout our lives — from washing machines to automobiles to elevators to … Well-managed standards and regulations are critical to our ability to function in the complex reality of modern society.
This is certainly true when it comes to buildings — standards and regulations lay a minimum basis for what will be around for decades to come. From structural soundness to fire safety to electrical wiring to energy efficiency, quality building codes are key to a quality built environment. And, as per energy efficiency, since buildings account for roughly 40% of energy use and the buildings will last for decades — poor energy efficiency codes translates to decades of wasteful energy use with higher bills and higher pollution loads.
One reason for Virginia’s poor energy efficiency rankings: a long history of lagging behind the curve when it comes to International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Currently, Virginia’s code is based on the 2015 IECC (not the 2018) with critical portions of Virginia code dating back to the 2012 code and even the 2009 code. (This isn’t new, Virginia’s building code has too long a history of lagging behind … no small part of why the Commonwealth rates so poorly on built environment efficiency.) A decade is, in today’s world, an eternity when it comes to energy efficiency and technologies. Just a few examples for an understanding:
- In 2009, the extremely efficient LED lights were an expensive and rare luxury while they are the norm in building today.
- In 2009, smart phone apps for monitoring and controlling home energy systems didn’t exist and are proliferating like crazy today.
- In 2009, induction stove-tops were incredibly expensive (many $1000s) and hard-to-find while one can buy portable induction stovetops for under $50 online today and have them at your house tomorrow.
- In 2009, home owners had few options for managing their hot water heaters while today Virginia small business Aquanta offers a “retrofittable water heater controller brings your electric or gas water heater out of the basement and into the palm of your hand to heat water only when you need it.”
For those who love energy trade show floors (like this energy geek), (pre-COVID) 2020 is a radically different world than 2009 when it comes to energy and the idea of having a building code in the 2020s based on mid-2000s technologies and processes (since it takes many years to build code, a 2009 code is really ‘up-to-date’ for 2006 or so) is painful to consider.
Virginia’s regulator, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), of building code is in the process of determining what should happen with the code. Rather than simply upgrading to the latest IECC (2018), it appears quite possible that the DHCD will simply continue many of the outdated elements of the existing code. (Here is the proposed revised code. On it, see Ivy Main’s eloquent discussion.) Among those is to keep Virginia on the 2009 insulation standard rather than moving up something closer to present day standards. Regretfully, there are special interests (e.g., builders) who are perfectly willing to lower their costs for higher profits while delivering a lower-quality and higher-cost product to people for decades to come. The DHCD, evidently, has given builders and contractors a leading voice (role might not be too strong a word) in structuring Virginia’s building code. The DHCD’s approach to the IECC appears to be ‘explain why we should upgrade’ rather than ‘make the case why we shouldn’t’ and this facilitates putting energy efficiency on the back burner. Quite simply: this is unacceptable.
The DHCD is well along the path toward setting the code. There is a hearing this Friday and the public comments period ends Friday.
| The public hearing is scheduled for Friday, June 26 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held via electronic means. Please see the Virginia Town Hall website and/or the DHCD website for additional details. Please accept this correspondence as notification of and an invitation to attend the public hearing. In addition to the public hearing, written comments will be accepted through June 26, 2020 via mail, fax, email and the Virginia Town Hall website. |
If you wish, here is a Sierra Club path for submitting comments.
Some thoughts for DHCD:
- adopt the 2018 code essentially in entirety, especially when it comes to insulation.
- set (as per law) standard practice to adopt the most up-to-date codes s the norm — with active decision-making to not adopt require.
- accelerate code updating so that 2021 IECC becomes Virginia code in 2022 (rather than 2024
- require up-to-date standards for building renovations and rehabilitation (especially in rental stock)
In summary, DHCD should recognize that aggressive energy efficiency measures are in the public interest (from improved energy resiliency to reduced energy costs to reduced climate impacts) and that the legislature and the Governor have made clear that energy efficiency and climate mitigation are important for the Commonwealth. By adopting the 2018 building code and not keeping insulation at 2009 standards, the DHCD could demonstrate that recognition.