Page 21 - CodeWatcher Fall 2016 Issue

Unsure Fate Case Study: Florida

301 made it through the first round of code hearings, but The Florida Building Commission
nothing is inked yet. “[301] had a lot of support on the floor,” released a memo in April, “Renewable
says Erik Makela of Cadmus, who consults for RESNET. “In Energy Trade-Offs in the Building Energy
the hearings, the discussion of renewables came up before Code” that reviews what would happen
the 301 discussion, and [taking renewables out of the code] if on-site generation is allowed for
got overturned. So ultimately when 301 came up there was compliance in the Florida Building Code.
opposition from the groups who were against the renewable
trade-off. We know there will be people at the hearings who Florida encompasses two climate zones for purposes of
will try to overturn the committee’s decision on it but from building energy code compliance—Climate Zones 1 and 2.
the RESNET perspective, 301 is a vetted standard. ICC even For those climate zones, the IECC establishes an ERI compliance
put their name on it.” target of 52. This target was modified, however by Florida HB 535,
to an index of 58 in both climate zones.
It appears that, as Baden said, barring either side winning
outright, the middle ground may lie in creating limits on If on-site generation is allowed for compliance in the Florida
how much onsite power production can be credited for the Building Code, there is a very real possibility that homes will be
ERI option—though even that would be considered a loss constructed that meet only minimum efficiency standards and
by energy-efficiency advocates. still meet the ERI target.

“This is an issue where the old adage, ‘let’s not put the cart As this figure above illustrates, a home built in Tallahassee to
before the horse,’ applies,” Rich says. “While net zero energy minimum 2015 prescriptive standards and the 2009 thermal
homes necessarily require the use of renewables, it is the envelope standards receives a failing score of 86. That same
building energy code that ensures energy efficiency has been home with 5 kW of solar panels achieves a passing score of 45.
optimized to make that home net zero energy ready. It is our
hope that the 2018 ICC residential code update process will Check out this video that details the issues surrounding Florida’s
put the focus back on the ‘horse’ of energy cost savings for the solar-versus-high-performance stance.
homeowner – that means focusing on energy efficiency.” CW
Fall 2016 / CodeWatcher 21
Cati O’Keefe is the editorial director of Green Builder Media
and the editor of Code Watcher. Contact her at cati.okeefe@
greenbuildermedia.com

When You Trade a
High-Performance
Envelope for Solar …

¦¦ The home owner gets a poor performing, less

comfortable, drafty home.

¦¦ The home owner doesn’t see the cost of solar as part of

the true monthly cost of owning the home because solar is

often provided under a lease from a third party. This shifts

the cost away from the home price and mortgage, which is

good for builders, but it doesn’t actually reduce costs for

home buyers who may later opt out of the program and be

left with a significantly under-performing house.

¦¦ The amount of energy being used by the home is not

reduced by on-site renewable generation. The home

continues to receive its electricity from the local utility,

and while it may deliver “green” energy back to the local

utility, it does not actually offset the energy use of the

home where the system is affixed.

¦¦ The next home owner in the door after a solar-topped

home is sold may not retain the solar lease or equipment,

and will then be saddled with high utility bills.

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