The last quarter of 2021 was similar to the first three: busy! NEEA staff and contractors submitted 33 proposals for the residential and commercial provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) national model code. This major effort occurred in a short timeframe and involved significant coordination with organizations in the Northwest, California, and the rest of the US. This starts a two‑year process for IECC during which the residential and commercial committees and subcommittees review, edit and propose final code changes. NEEA staff are actively participating in this public process.
Federal standards work continued at a rapid pace with 18 requests for comment in Q4 2021. Nearly all 60 federal product categories are likely to be updated over the next three years. The U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) follows a four-phase process for test methods and energy conservation standards and we expect as many as six comment requests per product category. That’s nearly 360 requests for comment in three years!
Finally, in Q4 2021, NEEA staff completed the transition of the Commercial Code Enhancement and Residential New Construction program activities into NEEA’s Codes and Standards program. This consolidation allows for streamlined market engagement due to the significant overlap between above‑code and at-code market activities.
