2021 International Energy Conservation Code Published After Multiple Appeals
Following a three-year development process, the 2021 ICC family of model building codes has been published. Numerous changes to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) are of particular interest to home builders this year.
The development of the 2021 IECC was marked by controversy, culminating in multiple appeals by NAHB and others. Two of NAHB’s appeals were upheld by the ICC Board.
In the end, several problematic code changes that had been twice disapproved (first by the code development committee and then at public comment hearings) got into the 2021 IECC as a result of a controversial online ballot heavily influenced by block voting from non-code enforcement government officials that was linked to a single voting guide. Many of these proposals are not cost effective for home owners and will negatively impact housing affordability with little energy savings benefit. It will take several decades to achieve a simple payback on the initial investment under some of the new measures.
NAHB is developing a Code Adoption Kit for the 2021 IECC residential requirements and other 2021 I-Codes that will be available in the Spring of 2021. The purpose of the toolkit is to help jurisdictions make informed decisions on adoption of the new model codes based on the substance of the changes.