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DOE OSTI2021

Best practices for building energy codes compliance

Building energy codes are a proven policy mechanism to achieve economy-wide energy savings in buildings. In 2021, the International Energy Agency Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme (IEA EBC) Building Energy Codes Working Group (BECWG) set out to survey the diverse codes compliance practices across BECWG member countries. While codes vary in format and approach, attaining the energy reduction potential of building energy codes requires effective implementation and compliance. This is a large undertaking for countries, as effective compliance checking requires adequate resources, technical knowledge, capacity, and strong institutions. Many nations face the same compliance issues, such as requiring faster and easier methods to verify codes and coordinating among numerous stakeholders and levels of government. This paper explores the need for stronger institutional approaches to enforce building energy codes that will lead to code compliance. Specifically, this report sets out to address the question of what practices result in effective building energy code compliance in selected BECWG member countries.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Building Energy Codes and Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings: How building energy codes can enable a more dynamic and energy-efficient built environment

This report considers the role of national model codes to promote grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) as part of the modernization of the U.S. electricity grid. It introduces GEBs, describes their ability to support a clean, resilient grid, and considers challenges and approaches for incorporating GEB measures into national model energy codes and standards. Desirable traits of GEB include being low energy, low peaking, and responsive to grid needs, and minimizing the curtailment of renewable energy resources. In addition, the future grid incurs a time and locational value on these types of building services. Accounting for these considerations in future code development requires a continuation and expansion of code-minimum energy efficiency requirements and inclusion of demand responsive and load flexibility measures while ensuring annual use and cost reductions. Also, efforts to include GEB measures in codes will be limited until they are fully developed into an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-approved standard. Then it would be straightforward to address GEB measures through points or packages and/or scoring requirements. Otherwise, the building code would have to describe each specific grid responsive strategy. This document reviews topics pertinent to considering codes in this context. Specifically, the study presents the status and direction of current building energy codes, the future smart grid, low-energy buildings, and grid-integrated buildings. The report concludes with recommendations for future code development activities to support low-energy, grid-interactive buildings in order to provide added value to building owners, the grid, and society.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2023

A Review of the Evaluation of Building Energy Code Compliance in the United States

Building energy codes are essential tools for achieving energy efficiency in buildings. However, the full energy savings potential of these codes can only be realized if buildings are constructed in compliance with them. Therefore, evaluating building energy code compliance is crucial in bridging the gap between the energy efficiency requirements set by energy codes and the actualized energy savings achieved. An energy code compliance evaluation serves as a mechanism to assess construction practices, evaluate the effectiveness of code enforcement, identify gaps in compliance, and guide strategies for improvement through training and education. Conducting code compliance evaluation activities involves field studies that require careful design and significant resources. Historically, more emphasis has been placed on developing and adopting building energy codes, while efforts to evaluate compliance have been relatively limited and lacking consistent approaches. The passage of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which mandated that states create plans for achieving 90% compliance within eight years, stimulated the need for an energy code compliance evaluation. As a result, federal, state, and local governments, and utilities have invested in the development of methodologies and tools for code compliance evaluation studies. This paper reviews the code compliance evaluation studies conducted in the United States over the past three decades. It describes and compares the methodologies and metrics used to assess building energy code compliance, summarizes the general elements and steps involved in the evaluation process, and discusses common issues in these studies. Over time, code compliance evaluation methodologies have evolved from isolated development within individual states, regions, and utilities, to widely accepted protocols applicable across different states and local jurisdictions. There has been a transition in compliance metrics, shifting from historical compliance rates to energy-consumption-oriented approaches.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2024

Impacts of Model Building Energy Codes

The Department of Energy (DOE) Building Energy Codes Program (BECP) periodically evaluates national and state-level impacts associated with energy codes in residential and commercial buildings. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), funded by DOE, conducted an assessment of the prospective impacts of national model building energy codes from 2010 through 2040. A previous PNNL study evaluated the impact of the Building Energy Codes Program. A 2016 study looked more broadly at overall code impacts and this report describes the methodology used for the assessment and presents the impacts in terms of energy savings, consumer cost savings, and reduced emissions at the state level and at aggregated levels. In 2021, DOE conducted an interim and limited update to its 2016 study to evaluate potential building code updates using the 2016 methodology. That interim update includes estimated savings resulting from updates to the model energy codes, including the ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016 (ASHRAE 90.1-2016) and 2019 editions, as well as the 2018 and 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). In 2023, DOE developed a fully updated report that includes code updates (ASHRAE 90.1-2019 and 2021 IECC), as well as additional enhancements and updates, including updated energy prices, annual floorspace additions, state code adoption dates, and emission factors, among others. This current version is another fully updated report that includes code updates (ASHRAE 90.1-2022 and 2024 IECC), as well as additional enhancements and updates, including updated energy prices, state code adoption dates, emission factors, and renewable energy contribution among others. Energy codes follow a three-phase cycle that starts with the development of a new model code, proceeds with the adoption of the new code by states and local jurisdictions, and finishes when the new code is implemented and builders, architects, and engineers are required to comply with the new provisions. The development of new model code editions creates the potential for increased energy savings. After a new model code is adopted, potential savings are realized in the field when new buildings (or additions and alterations) are constructed to comply with the new code. The contributions of all three phases are crucial to the overall impact of codes and are considered in this assessment. Figure ES.1 schematically describes the analysis framework. Energy savings are expressed in terms of energy use intensity (EUI) in the figure.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

Resilience Issues in Building Energy Codes

This report, prepared for the International Energy Agency’s Building Energy Codes Working Group (BECWG, part of the IEA Energy in Buildings and Communities Technical Collaboration Programme, or IEA EBC), focuses on the application of building energy codes to improve the ability of buildings to provide a minimum healthy level of thermal comfort and function during extreme events. It reviews the relationship of building energy codes to the other building resilience policies and strategies, such as other building life/safety codes, community planning or zoning to discourage rebuilding in areas most prone to climate disasters, and other resilience planning strategies. The report provides an overview of how different jurisdictions address resilience issues in building energy codes in countries that are part of the IEA EBC Building Energy Codes Working Group.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

Impacts of Model Building Energy Codes

The Department of Energy (DOE) Building Energy Codes Program (BECP) periodically evaluates state and national impacts associated with energy codes in residential and commercial buildings. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), funded by DOE, assessed the prospective impacts of national model building energy codes from 2010 through 2040. The model codes of interest in this report are the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for residential buildings and ASHRAE Standard 90.1 for commercial buildings. This report describes the methodology used for the assessment and presents the impacts in terms of energy savings, consumer cost savings, and reduced CO 2 emissions at the state and national levels.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2021

Commercial Building Energy Code Field Study: Data Collection Methodology and Protocol

In support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Commercial Buildings Energy Code Field Study, this data collection methodology and protocol provides guidance on all aspects of undertaking a compliance study, from development of a sampling plan to recruitment to code requirements and compliance checks for each energy code measure specified to be collected. The protocol also includes a data collection form that captures all key information needed for analysis of commercial energy code compliance. This methodology was developed by the Institute for Market Transformation in coordination with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the U.S. Department of Energy Building Energy Codes Program with the objective of assisting states, jurisdictions, utilities and others as they seek to measure and demonstrate compliance rates with energy codes in commercial buildings, as well as to target areas for improvement through increased energy code compliance and broader energy-efficiency programs. It is also intended to facilitate a consistent and replicable approach to research studies of this type and establish a transparent data set representing baseline construction practices across the U.S.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

Commercial Building Energy Code Field Study: Data Collection Methodology and Protocol

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2024

Aligning Ukrainian Building Energy Codes with the EPBD

The aim of this report is to support Ukraine in revising its building energy codes in line with regulations laid out by the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD). The main objectives are to i) provide valuable information to help Ukraine align its building energy codes with EPBD requirements, ii) advance the capacity of key stakeholders in Ukraine to develop new regulations based on robust technical methodologies and analysis, iii) summarize building energy codes best practices using examples from the EU and elsewhere, and iv) recommend steps Ukraine can take to improve its building energy code regulations and implementation. This report summarizes EPBD requirements for new buildings, and buildings undergoing major renovations, related to cost-optimal and Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) requirements. This report highlights Ukraine’s progress in aligning it’s building energy codes with the aforementioned requirements and best practices regarding those requirements from the EU and internationally. Based on best practices and Ukraine’s current progress on requirements, recommendations are presented. A brief overview of the EPBD and building energy codes in Ukraine is also provided. Implementation related to building energy codes is touched upon as well. Potential next steps for Ukraine are outlined based on provided recommendations.

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DOE OSTI2022

What, why and when to go virtual: An international analysis of early adopters of virtual building energy codes inspections

To meet greenhouse gas reduction targets, several countries are pursuing more ambitious policies in their buildings and construction sectors, such as introducing zero net energy/carbon building codes. Countries often report not having enough qualified staff for performing building energy code inspections and many are exploring faster, easier, and more reliable methods to check the compliance of buildings with their codes. Building inspections are a critical element for ensuring code compliance and they have traditionally been performed in person. However, in-person inspections can be labor and travel intensive, costly, and prone to human error. In this paper, the authors explore how virtual inspections, particularly in light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, have impacted processes for building code compliance checks in jurisdictions and communities around the world. Here, the authors collected data on four key parameters (time and financial savings, scope of inspections, changing practices and technological innovation, and benefits to consumers) from six jurisdictions and communities in five countries (Australia, Canada, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, and the United States) to analyze the impacts of virtual inspections on code compliance checks. The analysis found the greatest value from virtual inspections in geographically dispersed regions and for cities experiencing rapid building construction. The study also explored emerging technologies that are being piloted for virtual inspections. Although many of these technologies hold promise, more resources and capacity are needed to make them viable for use in building energy code inspections.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Methodology to Establish Performance Targets for Building Energy Codes

This report explains the underlying development of the U.S. NZE building sector performance targets reported in Federal Register Notice XX. This document also includes NZE performance targets for U.S. states, which were developed following the same procedures used to develop the national values. These national and state targets are intended to support the establishment and attainment of NZE goals over time. Where residential and commercial building energy code compliance mechanisms apply to new buildings and major renovations and dictate performance requirements, these targets reflect the recommended, minimum levels of performance. Appendix A provides the performance values and targets by U.S. state for residential and commercial buildings. These include each state’s adopted energy code performance, current published MEC performance value, and a nominal NZE code compliance performance target. The current code and NZE values can be compared to the state adopted code value to indicate the level of advancement needed to move towards recommended NZE building performance levels. Additional supplemental resources are available to support states and local governments ready to move from setting NZE policy goals to adopting NZE codes. More information about these resources and the actions states can take to achieve NZE buildings with energy codes are provided in the body of this document.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2024

Data Driven Commercial Building Energy Code Compliance and Technology Inventory for New York City

Building Performance Standards (BPS) are gaining national traction. A BPS will require new processes in the design, construction, and operation of buildings that take the occupants into account and enable predictive analysis to ensure compliance with current and future GHG emissions caps. In New York City, most buildings over 25,000 square feet will be regulated by a BPS starting in 2024, regardless of whether it is new construction permitted under current energy codes or an existing building. This research is one of the first to begin the evaluation of a long-term series of building policies in the context of an open data ecosystem, in cooperation with city agencies. Existing building policies enacted in NYC have ranged from building energy benchmarking and labeling to energy audits to the regulation of GHG emission in buildings. Through the development of a dataset related to building technologies and energy consumption, this project can help to evaluate if meaningful conclusions can be drawn for the data that has been largely self-reported in compliance with city regulations. This project will also provide lessons learned from a deep dive into these types of datasets to provide best practices for municipalities or states seeking to embark on policies like those enacted in NYC. In addition, a Building Automation System (BAS) Stretch Standard of Care (SSOC) for owners, designers, and building operators will enable the measurement and predictive analysis of energy consumption and GHG emissions at the plant, system, or component level, in anticipation of regulated GHG limits on buildings based on energy use. The SSOC is expected to be suitable for use on a national level. The primary feature of an SSOC is a standardized format for a set of BAS points that can be used to control and to gather data from individual plants, systems, or components that are related to building energy consumption. This project examined how measurements compare to prescriptive or simulation-based energy code targets, finding little correlation between predictive 8760-hour energy modeling and actual energy consumption for a small sample (n=27) of buildings constructed after 2015. Other analysis found that, while large multifamily housing (MFH) buildings showed a general trend similar to predicted reductions in energy use from the implementation of model commercial energy codes, this trend was not evident in the office, K-12 school, and hotel use groups in NYC. No upward or downward trends in energy consumption were found when buildings were grouped by size. Energy audit data were analyzed and it appears that there is bias by audit company on measures recommended to clients. Further research should be performed to cross-analyze this with other attributes, such as building size, vintage, and number of stories. Analysis found that for 281 buildings that were permitted and completed after 2015 and had submitted benchmarking data in 2022, between 81% and 96% (by use group) were found to be in compliance with the 2024 to 2029 NYC BPS emission caps, and between 55% and 89% were in compliance with the 2030-2034 caps. This work is beneficial to the public in helping policymakers and building stakeholders better understand the wide-ranging implications of a BPS.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Adopting occupancy-based HVAC controls in commercial building energy codes: Analysis of cost-effectiveness and decarbonization potential

Recent research has shown the energy-saving potential of occupancy-based HVAC controls (OBCs) in commercial buildings. However, building energy codes have not fully adopted this technology. This study aims to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and decarbonization benefits of OBCs and provide guidance for integrating occupancy sensors into building energy code development. To this end, a parametric simulation using EnergyPlus and a nationwide cost-effectiveness analysis are carried out considering three building types and 40 representative cities in the U.S. Here, the findings reveal that the current cost-effectiveness performance of OBCs is limited due to the high cost of occupancy sensors. However, incorporating the societal cost of carbon factor in future energy and environmental policy could greatly enhance the actual cost-effectiveness performance. Besides, a reduction in the cost of occupancy sensors to approximately 60% of the current price level could also greatly shorten the discounted payback period of OBCs. Additionally, OBCs demonstrate significant potential in building decarbonization, with potential CO 2 emissions savings of more than 5.56 million metric tons across the three building types and 40 selected cities. Finally, policy implications are provided to guide the incorporation of occupancy-based HVAC controls in future energy codes.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2022

Automatic Receptacle Controls: What They Are and Why They Should be Commonplace in Building Energy Codes

This fact sheet describes what Automatic Receptacle Controls (ARCs) are, how they work, ARC benefits and savings, and last, how they are being incorporated into energy codes. This fact sheet is meant to be a resource for energy codes adopters and influencers to help encourage them to adopt ARC provisions in their energy code.

automatic receptacle control↗

DOE OSTI2025

Building Performance Standards and Energy Code Alignment - Technical Brief

Building energy codes focus on building design, construction and renovation and have significantly increased building efficiency since the first national energy code was published in 1975. Most jurisdictions have energy codes based on ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 (hereto referred to as Standard 90.1) and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Compliance options available in these model energy codes include a prescriptive path, whole building performance paths – including IECC Total Building Performance (TBP), Standard 90.1 Energy Cost Budget (ECB) method and Performance Rating Method (PRM) – and system performance paths for envelope and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems. Building performance standard (BPS) policies are an emerging policy tool used by jurisdictions to reduce the operational energy use or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the existing commercial building stock. BPS policies vary widely between jurisdictions and are tailored to each location’s climate and energy goals. Intuitively, projects that met a recent edition of the energy code should comply with the BPS targets. However, some new buildings may struggle with meeting the BPS for the following reasons: 1. Energy codes focus on the design of the building and its projected ability to perform efficiently, while BPS compliance is dependent on the actual ongoing performance of the building, considering variables like occupancy, operation, and maintenance. 2. There are significant differences in the methodologies used to determine BPS compliance versus code compliance, including how each handles compliance metrics, handling of building amenities, and renewable energy generation. 3. The prescriptive compliance path in the energy code is based on performance of individual building components, as opposed to the performance compliance path which accounts for holistic building design strategies and interdependent building systems. This can result in a significant variability in post-occupancy performance for buildings built using the prescriptive path. Designs on the lower end of the permitted efficiency range may struggle with meeting the BPS.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2025

Market Driven Residential Energy Codes: Comparing Performance in a Changing Technological Environment

The research project is undertaken to better understand the changing relationship between the two basic methods of building energy code compliance – prescriptive and performance – and how those methods relate to each other with respect to advancements in building energy computer simulation standards and capabilities. The International Energy Efficiency Code (IECC) is a model code adopted by many jurisdictions across the United States. Historically, the prescriptive compliance methodology has been preferred in most jurisdictions. The prescriptive methodology requires meeting or exceeding specific efficiency minimums for each envelope component. This tends to be a simple method to teach and verify. A more involved prescriptive alternative called the Total UA alternative is sometimes used. This method requires some multiplication, summing, and comparison to compute, so it is done with a fairly simple computer program. However, advances in computer and building energy simulation technology have resulted in increased use of more detailed performance compliance methods. The performance compliance method establishes the annual energy cost threshold via hourly simulation models. The compliance threshold is determined with a comparison building model simulation with geometry similar to the proposed home and with energy feature parameters and efficiencies as specified in the IECC. This project examines relationships between the two methods of building energy code compliance, including: • Overall annual energy use based on utility bill analysis by compliance method • Code official work processes with respect to compliance methods • Gaps and issues associated with building code compliance methods • Simulated energy use difference between compliance methods • Code compliance cost as a function of compliance method • Code compliance labeling effectiveness for high performance residences • Getting to net zero energy use and net zero greenhouse gas emissions through high performance code alternatives • Electronic code permitting and compliance alternatives

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Building Performance Standards and Energy Code Alignment: Technical Brief

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2022

Prototype College Building Energy Model: Building Characteristics and Energy Simulation Results

The US Department of Energy supports the development of commercial building energy codes and standards. To support commercial building energy research activities and the development of commercial building energy codes and standards, continuous efforts have been made to convert 16 prototype building models, which cover 80% of US commercial building floor space, to OpenStudio prototype buildings. Additionally, the suite of prototype building models was expanded to include the addition of new building prototype models (e.g., courthouse, college building). Multiple sources, including databases, documented projects, and personal communications, were used to define the prototype college building, and a 4-story with 69,063 ft 2 building was considered as the prototype college building to represent an average-sized college building in the United States. To represent realistic occupancy schedules and increase the granularity of information, actual class reservation schedules were collected and used. This report documents the building and system characteristics of the prototype college building model combined with climate-specific and construction vintage–specific requirements for the building envelope and systems from ASHRAE Standard 90.1. The energy simulation results are presented for 4 construction vintages (2004, 2007, 2010, and 2013) and 15 ASHRAE climate zones. The site energy use intensity of the college building was compared with 2012 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) and ENERGY STAR data to verify the simulation results. The site energy use intensity of the college building ranged from 60 to 202.4 kBtu/ft 2 , and compared with the energy use intensities of Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (122.9 kBtu/ft 2 ) and ENERGY STAR (84.3 kBtu/ft 2 ) data, the prototype college building results are in a reasonable range.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗