Summary of Changes to the Energy Efficiency Standards
EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 1999
California state law requires that most new building
construction (new buildings and additions/alterations to
existing buildings) be in compliance with the Energy
Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential
Buildings (Standards). The Standards are updated and revised
at regular building code change intervals (usually three to
four years). The following is a summary of changes that
were made to the 1995 Standards version and become effective
July 1, 1999.
This overview is intended to serve as a convenient summary
of changes only and does not address all changes made nor is
it the definitive code itself. For exact wording and legal
code, please see the California Energy Commission
publication P400-98-001, Energy Efficiency Standards for
Residential and Nonresidential Buildings, dated July 1999.
WINDOWS/FENESTRATION (All Occupancies)
- All manufactured products must have a label with the
U-value and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC). These values
can be NFRC or default values. The default values are found
in the standards, Section 116.
- All references to Shading Coefficient (SC) are now SHGC.
The new requirements are equivalent to the SC requirements
except for residential where the 0.40 SC is now 0.40 SHGC,
which is slightly relaxed.
- Field-fabricated fenestration does not need to be labeled.
These products will use the default values. This term
replaces site-built, and is defined as:
FIELD-FABRICATED FENESTRATION PRODUCT OR EXTERIOR DOOR is a
fenestration product or exterior door whose frame is made at
the construction site of standard dimensional lumber or
other materials that were not previously cut, or otherwise
formed with the specific intention of being used to
fabricate a fenestration product or exterior door. Field
fabricated does not include site assembled frame components
that were manufactured elsewhere with the intention of being
assembled on site (such as knocked down products, sunspace
kits and curtainwalls).
- In buildings using the nonresidential standards (includes
hotel/motel, and high-rise residential) glazed wall systems
and overhead glazing do not need to be labeled. These
products must still determine a U-value and SHGC using NFRC
or default values.
- Fenestration products removed and reinstalled as part of a
building alteration or addition do not need labels.
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DUCTS (All Occupancies)
- All pressure-sensitive tapes, mastics, aerosol sealants,
or other closure systems must meet applicable UL 181
requirements.
- Drawbands used with flexible duct shall:
- (a) Be either stainless-steel worm-drive hose clamps or
UV-resistant nylon duct ties.
- (b) Have a minimum tensile
strength rating of 150 pounds.
- (c) Be tightened as
recommended by the manufacturer with an adjustable
tensioning tool.
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RESIDENTIAL KITCHEN and BATHROOM LIGHTING
- The general lighting must provide sufficient light for
basic kitchen tasks and provide a uniform pattern of
illumination. This prevents a light in the corner being
considered general lighting.
- The control for the general lighting must be on a readily
accessible switch at an entrance to the kitchen. This
eliminates the need for a switch at each entrance and
eliminates the need to determine which switch is the "most"
accessible.
- Each room with a shower or bathtub (no reference to water
closet) must have a high efficacy lamp; half-baths will not
have any lighting requirements.
- An alternative to the bathroom lighting is to install both
of the following:
- A high efficacy lamp in a utility room, laundry room,
or garage; and
- High efficacy lamps in all luminaires
permanently mounted to the residence providing outdoor
lighting, or all permanently mounted outdoor lighting
equipped with a motion sensor.
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RESIDENTIAL WATER HEATING
- Credit for R-12 water heater insulation wrap is not
allowed.
- An R-12 blanket is mandatory on water heaters with an
energy factor of less than 0.58.
- The water heating budget does not include an R-12 blanket
and prescriptive water heating requirements do not include
the blanket. The proposed water heater will be compared to a
minimally complying water heater (0.53 EF). The effect is
that the applicant who formerly modeled water heating with
an R-12 wrap will receive the same credit they've been
receiving and no blanket will be required as long as it is
0.58 EF or higher.
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RESIDENTIAL ENVELOPE
- Thermal mass is not required for compliance with
prescriptive Package D (Package E is eliminated because the
mass requirements were the only difference between D and E).
Additions will not require compliance with any thermal mass
requirements. Credit for a passive solar design will be
accommodated in performance compliance.
- For performance compliance, solar heat gain coefficients
(instead of SC) are 0.68 for draperies, 0.47 for blinds, and
0.47 for roller shades until December 31, 2001. Beginning
January 1, 2002, roller shades cannot be used for
compliance. These are the only acceptable values for
interior shading devices.
- Interior shading devices cannot be used to show compliance
with prescriptive SHGC requirements. Prescriptive compliance
requires a fenestration product with the required SHGC, an
exterior shading device, or an overhang.
- All prescriptive references to 0.66 SC were changed to "no
requirement."
- R-8 insulation for concrete raised floor (e.g., apartments
with underground parking) is no longer a mandatory
requirement. Prescriptive Package D requires R-8 in Climate
Zones 1, 2, 11, 13, 14, and 16, R-4 is required in Zones 12
and 15, no concrete raised floor insulation is required in
Zones 3-10.
- Package D includes below grade (basement) wall insulation
requirements. Climate Zones 1-15 do not require any
insulation, Climate Zone 16 requires R-13 insulation.
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RESIDENTIAL SPACE CONDITIONING
- Prescriptive compliance can be achieved with any type of
space heating (e.g., wall furnace) or space-cooling system
that complies with applicable appliance efficiency
requirements. A setback thermostat is required.
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RESIDENTIAL ALTERATIONS - prescriptive
- New space-conditioning systems or components must meet
applicable mandatory requirements and are limited to natural
gas, liquefied petroleum gas, or the existing fuel type,
unless it can be demonstrated that the source energy use of
the new system is more efficient than the existing system.
This provision was included to prevent equipment change-outs
to a less efficient fuel source without compensating
efficiency measures (as demonstrated using performance
compliance).
- New service water-heating systems or components must meet
applicable mandatory requirements and are limited to natural
gas, liquefied petroleum gas, or the existing fuel type
unless it can be demonstrated that the source energy use of
the new system is more efficient than the existing system.
This provision was included to prevent equipment change-outs
to a less efficient fuel source without compensating
efficiency measures (as demonstrated using performance
compliance).
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RESIDENTIAL ALTERATIONS - performance
- A new provision for existing plus alteration is provided
for situations where the applicant cannot or does not want
to meet the 0.75 U-value for windows or wants to change from
gas or liquefied petroleum heating or water heating to
electric.
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SCOPE
- A new category of "semi-conditioned" building will comply
with lighting requirements.
- A semi-conditioned building is a nonresidential building
with conditioning that currently does not meet the
definition of directly conditioned-less than 5 Btu/hr./ft.2
of cooling, less than 10 Btu/hr./ft.2 of heating,
evaporative cooling, wood heat, conditioned for a process
environment below 55 or above 90 degrees fahrenheit.
- The definition of directly conditioned was clarified with
regard to process environment. It has also been expanded so
that spaces with, for example freeze protection where the
space is not maintained outside the comfort range, are not
directly conditioned:
DIRECTLY CONDITIONED SPACE is an enclosed space that is
provided with wood heating, is provided with mechanical
heating that has a capacity exceeding 10 Btu/(hr.-ft.2), or
is provided with mechanical cooling that has a capacity
exceeding 5 Btu/(hr.-ft.2, unless the space-conditioning
system is designed and thermostatically controlled to
maintain a process environment temperature less than 55 degrees fahrenheit or
to maintain a process environment temperature greater than
90 degrees fahrenheit for the whole space that the system serves, or unless
the space-conditioning system is designed and controlled to
be incapable of operating at temperatures above 55 degrees fahrenheit or
incapable of operating at temperatures below 90 degrees fahrenheit at design
conditions.
- Definitions of mechanical cooling and mechanical heating
remove the phrase "for the purpose of maintaining human
comfort."
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NONRESIDENTIAL ENVELOPE
- The heat gain and heat loss equations were updated for
accuracy and the heat gain equation now considers the
effects of opaque surfaces.
- Prescriptive high-rise residential requirements include
insulation for concrete raised floors (e.g., apartments with
underground parking) to match low-rise requirementsÑ R-4 in
Climate Zones 12 and 15, R-8 in Climate Zones 1, 2, 11, 13,
14, and 16.
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NONRESIDENTIAL MECHANICAL
- Prescriptive fan power limitations for variable air volume
systems are changed to reflect improvements in technology
and system efficiency. Individual VAV fans with motors over
25 HP (adjusted for air filtering systems) must meet one of
the following:
- (a) The fan motor shall be driven by a mechanical or
electrical variable speed drive.
- (b) The fan shall be a
vane-axial fan with variable pitch blades.
- (c) The fan
motor shall include controls that limit the fan motor demand
to no more than 30 percent of the total design wattage at 50 percent of
design air volume when static pressure set point equals 1/3
of the total design static pressure, based on certified
manufacturer's test data.
- A new exception to prescriptive economizer requirements is
provided for spaces or rooms with a dedicated space
conditioning system where the use of outdoor air is
detrimental to equipment or materials, e.g., computer room,
telecommunications equipment room.
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NONRESIDENTIAL LIGHTING
- Reduced control credits for lumen maintenance (from 10 to
5 percent) and for combined occupancy sensor and lumen
maintenance (from 37 to 25 percent).
- Lighting levels in all compliance approaches are reduced
to account for T-8 lamps with electronic ballasts in place
of T-12 lamps with magnetic ballasts. Reductions are not a
straight percentage, but are based on the prevalence of
fluorescent lighting in the building model.
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NONRESIDENTIAL ADDITIONS and ALTERATIONS
- Wording is added to clarify how the standards apply/do not
apply to a change of occupancy.
- When an existing semi-conditioned nonresidential buildings
is undergoing a lighting alteration, the same requirements
apply as for any other lighting alteration. However, when a
space is converted from unconditioned to semi-conditioned,
no requirements (lighting, mechanical or envelope) apply.
- One of the options for envelope alterations will require
compliance with the requirements of Section 143 "for the
altered component," except when a portion of an entire
building's fenestration is repaired or replaced, or 50
square feet or less of glass is added. In such cases,
compliance with the solar heat gain coefficient requirements
of Section 143 is not required.
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