Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced new building energy code requirements for federal buildings. Specifically, on March 30, DOE’s press release proposed:
Beginning in April 2023, all new buildings and major retrofits constructed by the Federal government must comply with the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and the 2019 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers Standard 90.1 building energy codes.
DOE estimates that this measure will save $4.2 million in operating costs within the first year of implementation.
The rule, which will be published in the Federal Register in the near future, notes:
DOE analysis indicates that buildings meeting the 2021 IECC, as compared with buildings meeting the 2018 IECC, would result in national site energy savings of 9.38 percent, source energy savings of 8.79 percent, and energy cost savings of approximately 8.66 percent of residential building energy consumption.
Realizing that the percentages cited in the rule will logically lead to the next question, the press release puts a dollar figure to the savings noting the rule will save $4.2 million in operating costs in the first year.
