May ??, 2017
ATTN: Building Energy Codes Program
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, EE-2J
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20585-0121
To Whom It May Concern:
Title III of the Energy Conservation and Production Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6831-6837), requires states to certify to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that they have reviewed the energy provisions of their building code, held public hearings and made a determination as to whether their code meets or exceeds the national code within two years of federal notice. In the June 11, 2015, edition of the Federal Register (Federal Register Number 2015-14297), the U.S. Department of Energy noticed that the 2015 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) would achieve greater energy efficiency in buildings than the 2012 edition of that Code.
The Florida Building Commission, which has statutory authority to administer the Florida Building Code (s. 553.72(3), Florida Statutes), met on May 12, 2017, and voted to certify that the residential building provisions of the proposed 6th Edition (2017) Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation (FEC), will meet or exceed the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code, for low-rise residential buildings.
Florida has
been working since August 2013, toward producing the 6th Edition
(2017) Florida Building Code, Energy
Conservation, which will utilize the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code as its base document. A triennial code change cycle has produced a variety of approved energy
code changes, which have undergone significant public review. That effort has
resulted in a document that clearly reflects the 2015 IECC as its model. A code change meeting was held on August 16,
2016, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to accept public input regarding the
modifications “supplement” to the model code
(2015 International Codes) approved by the Florida Building Commission’s
Technical Advisory Committees. The combination of the “supplement” modifications
approved on August 16, 2016 and foundation code “2015 I-Code” will become the
next edition of the Florida Building Code. This edition will take effect
on December 31, 2017 to allow time for publication, training and dissemination
(see attached draft supplement to the 2015 IECC) and the draft 6th
Edition (2017) Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation.
U.S. Department of Energy
May ??, 2017
Page 2
Finally, analysis by the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC–CR-2061-17), which included qualitative assessment of the proposed code modifications impact on energy efficiency of residential buildings in the State of Florida and quantitative analysis of the code modifications impact using simulation, shows that when assuming that 92% or more of the residential projects in Florida comply via the performance method, the 2017 FEC would meet or slightly exceed the stringency of the 2015 IECC in the State as a whole (see attached FSEC-CR-2019-16).
Should you have questions regarding the Commission’s findings, please contact Mo Madani, Technical Director with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (850) 717-1825, mo.madani@myfloridalicense,com.
Sincerely,
Richard S. Browdy, Chairman
Florida Building Commission