Page 19 - CodeWatcher Fall 2016 Issue

Plus Solar Credit: Mario Beauregard For reducing

dependence on

fossil fuels, solar is

everyone’s darling,

but when it comes

to using it as a

trade-off for a

high-performance

envelope, it

loses its shine.

BY CATI O’KEEFE

BLAME IT ON thesuccessful
marketing campaigns
of the solar industry.
Homeowners and builders
alike have been taught:
It’s free! It’s infinite! It’s
green! And, indeed, solar
and other renewables are a huge game-
changer in the bid to free ourselves from
dependence on fossil fuels.

But now solar is strapped to the hot seat
during the 2018 IECC debates. Energy
efficiency advocates are lobbying heavily to
make sure that the new code doesn’t allow
builders to weaken the building envelope
simply by popping some solar panels on
rooftops.

This issue became heated at the
preliminary hearings in April, particularly
over the inclusion of the RESNET/ICC
Standard 301, which would make the
HERS rating a path to code compliance.
This worries energy-efficiency advocates
who point out that the HERS calculation
offers the ability to factor on-site power
production into the score, which in turn
means that unless states put limits on solar
being used as a trade-off for performance,
builders would indeed be allowed to weaken
the thermal envelope.

Fall 2016 / CodeWatcher 19