Page 17 - CodeWatcher Winter 2017 Issue

2018 IECC Online Vote
“It is our hope that the ICC Board will honor
the action of its members by allowing the
public comment hearing and online voting
results to stand. It is certainly clear to
those paying attention that more needs to
be done to conserve and protect one of our
planet’s most essential resources.”
Online Upsets
Here’s a look at a few of the code change proposals who saw their fate changed by the online vote.
¦¦ Appendix RA, “Recommended Procedure for Worst Case
Testing of Atmospheric Venting Systems Under R402.4 or
R405 Conditions” was ultimately removed from the code,
after initially being retained.
¦¦ The addition of a definition for grid-interactive electric This proposal had two parts; one for commercial and one for
storage systems was accepted at the public comment hearing
after the proponent made a committee-recommended
correction to an accompanying table, only to see that decision
overturned by the online vote.
¦¦ An exception to allow individual wall framing cavities,
in compliance with the IMC, for transfer air between two
spaces on the same level was at first added, but the online
voters disagreed with those at the hearing and kept the
exception out of the code.
¦¦ RESNET/ICC/ANSI 380, a standard for testing
airtightness, was prevented from entering the code by the
online voting community, which differed from the opinions
of the public comment hearing participants.
¦¦ Cross-laminated timber was denied entry into the mass
wall definition.
¦¦ A cavity-only wall insulation option was added to the
prescriptive table R402.1.2 for climate zones 6-8, and while
it passed the public comment hearings, it did not pass the
online vote.
¦¦ An attempt was made to add Climate Zone 0 to Table
R402.1.2 and Table R406.4 to be consistent with ASHRAE
Standard 169-2013, Climatic Data for Building Design
Standards, but the online voters rejected it.
¦¦ A proposal to improve U-factors for fenestration in
climate zones 3-8, which was supported by both the energy-
efficiency community and the WDMA, was approved at the
www.codewatcher.us
hearings but disapproved by the online voters.
Finally, one proposal in the commercial energy code
caught our eye. Specifically, CE175-16, which called for
showerhead flow rates not to exceed 2.0 gpm at 80 psi.
residential. The commercial code proposal passed, while the
residential proposal did not. However, this entire proposal
has a sense of uncertainty hanging over it. According to
the ICC:
This code change proposal addresses the scope and
application of the International Energy Code and the
International Plumbing Code. The action taken at the
Committee Action Hearing on this proposal coupled with
the final action taken at the 2016 Public Comment Hearings
and OGCV will be limited to an advisory recommendation
to the ICC Board of Directors who will determine the final
disposition on this proposed change in accordance with
Section 1.3 of CP 28, which stipulates that the ICC Board of
Directors determines the scope of the I-Codes.
The topic of water efficiency is a political football of sorts.
It seems to be tossed around from the IPC to the IgCC to
the IECC. Amazingly, this vital topic has never really found
a home within the I-codes.
It is our hope that the ICC Board will honor the action of
its members by allowing the public comment hearing and
online voting results to stand. It is certainly clear to those
paying attention that more needs to be done to conserve
and protect one of our planet’s most essential resources. CW
Mike Collignon is the executive director of the Green Builder Coalition.
January 2017 / CodeWatcher 17