GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Te Industry Eye on State & Local Issues
Energy & Local Issues
The 2009 Energy Code and the City of Houston
By MAGGIE YANCEY, GHBA Government Affairs and Communications Specialist
You Have a Voice with GAC!
If you have questions about this article or would like to get involved on the Government Affairs Committee, call (281) 970-8970, ext. 142 or email Maggie at
myancey@ghba.org.
Over the last six months, the GHBA served as a representative in the Construction Industry Council (CIC) stakeholders group facilitated by the Code Enforcement group of the City of Houston. The GHBA involved several energy rating experts, various window and air conditioning companies, and builders that build within the city limits to be involved in conversations going through the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) to appropriately amend the code as needed.
Just last month, the Houston City Council approved the ordinance amending the City of Houston Construction Code by adopting the 2009 IECC with local amendments as the Houston Residential Energy Conservation Code (HRECC).
The ordinance also included a provision for Public Works and Engineering in 2012 and 2013 to submit for placement on the Council Agenda a proposal to increase the percentage of the HRECC an additional five percent. The CIC will be involved with the stakeholders group for each time the code
8 is revisited, before going to Council.
The HRECC is five percent above the 2009 IECC, and then Council will vote in 2012 and 2013 to increase the stringency an additional five percent. For a list of the City of Houston amendments, please visit
www.ghba.org/political-advocacy/government- affairsissues.html, and see “Local Issues.”
For a presentation on “Understanding the 2009 Energy Code” from Clayton Farmer of BlueGill Energy Management, please visit
www.ghba.org/ political-advocacy/
multimedia.html.
The effective date for the 2009 IECC throughout the State of Texas for residential construction is January 1, 2012. The City of Houston’s amendments, plus the five percent increased stringency will also take effect January 1, 2012.
The State Energy Conservation Office launched an online video tutorial about the 2009 IECC, which can be viewed at
www.txbuildingenergycode.org. The video focuses on the significant differences from previous Texas code to the 2009 IECC, code
Continued on next page JANUARY 2012 | HOUSTON BUILDER | GREATER HOUSTON BUILDERS ASSOCIATION – BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE
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