AIR QUALITY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY ADVOCATES SPEAK UP FOR STRONGER ENERGY CODES IN UTAH
It’s a good news, bad news situation.
The good news is that new homes and commercial buildings in Utah are one step closer to less energy waste and helping to improve air quality.
The bad news is that due to one of the amendments recommended by the UBCC, new homebuyers may be stuck with less efficient, less insulated walls, which cannot be fixed later. This one amendment, supported by the home-building industry, threatens to cut 20% of the energy savings from the new code.
On October 7th, the Utah Uniform Building Code Commission voted to recommend adoption of the full 2015 International Energy Conservation Code for commercial buildings and a weakened energy code for residential construction.
Over a dozen air quality and energy efficiency advocates
were in attendance at the public hearing voicing strong support for adoption of a robust 2015 energy code with as few amendments as possible. This issue now moves to the Utah Legislature’s Business and Labor Interim Committee on October 21st.