The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) contracted with Ecotope, Inc. to conduct the Oregon Residential Specialty Code (ORSC) Energy Savings analysis in support of the new Executive Order 20-04 (EO-20-04). EO-20-40 directs the Oregon Building Codes Division (BCD) to adopt building codes for new residential construction that reduce regulated annual site energy consumption by 60% by 2030 relative to the 2006 Oregon code baseline. This report builds upon the previous study published in March 2020 in support of EO-17-20, which establishes requirements for BCD to adopt codes for residential buildings that achieve the U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready homes (DOE ZERH) specifications by 2023.
The study establishes a baseline for the 2006 residential code in Oregon and identifies a set of prescriptive strategies that could achieve 60% regulated energy reduction goal by 2030. In addition, the analysis suggests that a reduction of approximately 7.5% of regulated energy use in each cycle, from 2005 to 2029, would keep the state on track for its 2030 goal. Although the 2017 ORSC nearly aligns with this interim goal, the proposed 2021 ORSC shows 1% to 7.5% savings over the 2017 code and may fall out of line with the long term goals, suggesting more energy conservation measures and significant increased stringency are needed to make progress towards the EO-20-04.
