BUILDING CODES

& ENERGY EFFICIENCY:

DELAWARE
Updated September 14, 2010

B
uildings account for roughly 40 percent of
the total energy use in the United States and
70 percent of its electricity use, representing
a significant opportunity for energy savings. Energy
efficiency—through the adoption and enforcement
of strong building energy codes – is the quickest,
cheapest, and cleanest way to reduce energy con-
sumption and achieve a sustainable and prosperous
future. For most states, the first step has been to
adopt the U.S. model energy codes – the 2009 In-
ternational Energy Conservation Code (2009
IECC) and ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007.
In February 2009, the American Recovery and Re-
investment Act (Recovery Act) – federal legislation
appropriating funds for a variety of state economic With energy prices projected to rise sharply over
initiatives – allocated $3.1 billion for the U.S. De- the medium- and long-term, reducing Delaware’s
partment of Energy (DOE) State Energy Program energy demand will also enhance the state’s en-
(SEP) to assist states with building energy effi- ergy security and stimulate its economy.
ciency efforts. As a condition of accepting $24.2
million1 in SEP funding, Gov. Jack Markell certi- Energy codes also offer large-scale gains. BCAP
fied to DOE2 that Delaware would implement en- estimates that through Delaware’s implementation
ergy standards of equal or greater stringency than of the 2009 IECC and Standard 90.1-2007 state-
the latest national model codes. Delaware has high- wide (making incremental steps toward 90 percent
compliance in 2017), the state should realize sub-
lighted the state’s best economic interest by
stantial savings over BCAP’s business-as-usual
adopting the 2009 IECC & Standard 90.1-2007.
scenario:
AN UNTAPPED RESOURCE
By 2030, $99 million in annual energy cost sav-
The 2009 IECC and Standard 90.1-2007 improve ings for households and businesses, or $783 mil-
substantially upon the state’s previous energy code
lion from 2011-30.
and provide a simpler, uniform path to benefit
Delaware households and businesses through lower By 2030, annual CO2 emissions reductions of
utility costs, increased comfort, and better economic 500,000 metric tons, or 4 million metric tons
opportunity.3 from 2011-30.
A limited DOE analysis of the changes from states’
outdated residential codes to the 2009 IECC re- By 2030, residential source energy savings of 8
sulted in estimated energy savings ranging from percent, representing annual savings of 3 trillion
5-20 percent in most states for an average new Btu .
house at recent fuel prices.4 Another DOE analysis
of the changes from Delaware’s previous commer- By 2030, commercial source energy savings of
cial code estimates energy and cost savings of 10 13 percent, representing annual savings of 5 tril-
percent from Standard 90.1-2007.5 lion Btu.

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Washington, DC 20036
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 DELAWARE: BEYOND THE MODEL ENERGY CODE

T
he First State’s energy standards are codified in
Delaware Code Title 16, Chapter 76. The cur-
rent version of this code is based on the 2009
IECC and Standard 90.1-2007 and became effective in
July 2010.6 This represents a major gain in energy effi-
ciency from the state’s previous code based on the 2000
IECC.
Adoption, however, is only the first step. The state
must now implement its new code. As another condition
of accepting the Recovery Act SEP funds, states must
achieve compliance with these new standards in 90 per-
cent of new and renovated residential and commercial
building space by 2017.7
Trap Pond State Park (Credit – Lauren Weinhold)
Additionally, Delaware should consider following the
example of other states that are proven leaders in energy ence to the 2009 IECC, as the 2010 Maryland Building
efficiency by continuing to develop and adopt innovative Performance Standards (MBPS) has done. The MBPS
also explicitly prohibit local amendments to the state
policies that go beyond the national model codes.
code that weaken the stringency of its energy efficiency
AUTOMATIC ENERGY CODE STATUTE UPDATES standards.11

When states regularly update and enforce their energy
codes they ensure the consistency and continued en-
hancement of the benefits of model building practice.
The 2012 edition of the IECC is expected to be published
in spring 2011.
The Green Communities Act of 2008 requires Massa-
chusetts to adopt each new IECC edition within one
year of its publication.8
In 1999, the Pennsylvania passed Uniform Construc-
tion Code of 1999 (amended in 2004), requiring the
state to adopt updated editions of the IECC by Decem-
ber 31 of their publication year.9
REMOVE CONTRADICTORY COMPLIANCE OPTIONS
Many states have adopted the 2009 International Resi-
dential Code (2009 IRC) along with the IECC. For vari-
ous reasons, however, many builders use the energy effi-
ciency standards (Chapter 11) of the IRC, which DOE
has stated is not equivalent to the IECC and does not
comply with Recovery Act requirements.10 States can
avoid contradictory compliance options by deleting
Chapter 11 of the IRC and replacing it with a refer-
** NOTES **
1 7
US DOE (http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=211)
2 8
US DOE (http://www.energy.gov/media/4254MarkellDelaware.pdf)
3 9
BCAP (http://bcap-energy.org/node/330)
4 10
US DOE (http://www.energycodes.gov/implement/state_codes/reports/
11
IECC2009_Residential_Nationwide_Analysis.pdf)
5 12
US DOE (http://www.energycodes.gov/implement/state_codes/reports/commercial/
13
Commercial_Delaware.pdf)
6
BCAP (http://delcode.delaware.gov/title16/c076/index.shtml)
UNIFORM VOLUNTARY “STRETCH CODE”
In 2009, Massachusetts approved Appendix 120AA as an
optional amendment to its mandatory statewide building
energy code.12 The appendix, which includes both resi-
dential and commercial code language, is designed to be
about 30 percent more stringent than the 2006 IECC and
ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004. This optional "stretch
code" was developed in response to the call for improved
local building energy efficiency. Towns and cities may
adopt the appendix as a uniform alternative to the base
energy efficiency requirements of the state code, easing
future transitions to strengthen the mandatory code.
MANDATORY GREEN BUILDING CODE
In January 2010, California adopted the nation’s first
mandatory green building standards, known as CAL-
Green.13 Effective in 2011, the new code will require all
new buildings to reduce indoor water use by 20 percent
and divert 50 percent of construction waste from land-
fills. CALGreen also mandates inspections of energy
systems for large nonresidential buildings and the use of
low-pollutant emitting interior finish materials such as
paints, carpet, vinyl flooring, and particle board.
For more information, please visit www.bcap-ocean.org
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Sec. 410 (2) (c)
(http://bcap-energy.org/files/MASS_GreenCommunitiesAct_S2768_0.pdf)
PA DLI (http://bcap-energy.org/files/PA_UCC_Act_1999.pdf)
US DOE (http://www.energycodes.gov/news/irc_iecc_arra.stm)
MD Codes Admin. (http://mdcodes.umbc.edu/dhcd2/mbps.html)
MA BBRS (http://bcap-energy.org/node/418)
CA BSC (http://bcap-ocean.org/news/2010/january/21/california-adopts-nations-first
-mandatory-green-building-standards)

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