New Energy Code components effective January 1, 2004

Highlights

Several changes have occurred in the latest version of the Georgia Energy Code (GEC). With the new commercial code, contractors have several options to show compliance. The simplest method utilizes a single- step compliance procedure for simple commercial buildings of two stories or less with less than 25,000 square feet of floor area. This method incorporates three different one-page forms the builder can use to show compliance in the lighting, mechanical, and envelope and insulation systems.

The residential code offers numerous prescriptive and trade-off options to show compliance. In the past, the Department of Energy offered a software program called MECcheck to calculate these trade-offs for the building components. Since the Model Energy Code (MEC) has been replaced by the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), MECcheck has been updated into REScheck (for residential compliance); a companion program for commercial compliance, COMcheck is also available. Both of these programs may be obtained for free from www.energycodes.org.

The GEC now requires all residential windows to display U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) information. All windows must have a U-factor of 0.65 or less and all glazing must have an average SHGC not exceeding 0.40. The U-Factor refers to the rate of heat loss occurring through the glass. The lower the U-factor, the greater the window’s resistance to heat flow and the better the insulating value. The SHGC refers to the amount of solar heat a window transmits. The rating range for SHGC is between 0 and 1 with the lower the number reflecting less heat gain. Double-pane, low-emissivity (low-e) windows easily meet these specifications. For this reason, the Georgia construction market should begin to shift to low-e in early 2004.

Benefits

Both the 2000 IECC and the Georgia Energy Code create opportunities for many benefits, the most obvious being the conservation of our natural resources and reduction of carbon emissions. Homeowners and businesses will benefit directly by saving money on energy costs due to the higher efficiencies of their buildings and properly sized HVAC systems. Builders and occupants of buildings can benefit by the new energy code’s air sealing measures that minimize moisture and comfort problems, thereby reducing complaints and contractor call-backs.

The new energy code has also promoted the development of new energy efficient products. These products can improve the energy efficiency and performance of buildings and spur the local economy. Local businesses in Georgia have offered new products to the market and created new jobs in the process. Perform Guard is a borate-treated, environmentally friendly, rigid foam insulation that deters termites and is being manufactured by Allied Foam Products in Gainesville, Georgia.

Cardinal Glass in Buford, Georgia manufactures the efficient, low-e glass required by the code in 2004. They repurchase and recycle their glass to manufacture new glass, diverting more than 150 million pounds of waste each year from landfills. Babb International in Adel, Georgia, is producing Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) Hebel block using a process that originated in Germany. AAC offers an energy-efficient, lightweight, affordable building material that is fully recyclable.