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Builders Prevail Against Costly Energy Code Change
 In a victory for housing affordability, NAHB prevailed in an effort to roll back new, more stringent insulation requirements at International Code Council hearings in Detroit on Sept. 29.
The new requirements would have provided little savings to consumers in reduced energy costs, changed established construction practices and unfairly benefited the fiberglass insulation industry.
Faced with the daunting challenge of mustering a two-thirds majority of code officials to vote “yes” on the EC16 rollback proposal, NAHB launched a campaign earlier this year to encourage members to lobby code officials for their support. Members delivered the message that builders support building codes that promote energy efficiency, but home buyers should not bear the burden of expensive new requirements that provide little benefit.
The stricter requirements were orchestrated during last-minute amendments made to a Department of Energy (DOE) proposal that was intended to simplify compliance with the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).
During a hearing on the DOE proposal, the fiberglass insulation industry convinced the code officials to increase wall insulation requirements, or R-values, for wood-framed construction. The higher insulation requirements would have potentially excluded from the marketplace many types of insulation, such as sprayed cellulose and expanding foams, which could not have achieved the new ratings using standard 2x4 wall construction.
NAHB opposed the changes because they were not cost-effective and would not have provided a significant energy savings to new home buyers.
NAHB’s grassroots campaign resulted in dozens of meetings with local code officials around the country, with a number of ICC state delegations promising to support NAHB’s proposal. After a heated debate in Detroit, code officials cast a resounding vote for housing affordability by eliminating this costly and unjustified increase in wall insulation requirements.
NAHB's efforts were supported by a coalition of industry orgnizations that included APA — The Engineered Wood Association, Icynene, Nu-Wool, the Cellulose Insulation Manufacturers Association (CIMA) and the glass block industry. Moreover, nearly a dozen code officials testified in support of NAHB's proposal, saying that last year's floor amendements were unjustified and should be overturned.
In the end, EC16 sailed through with a comfortable 80% margin of 271-68. It is estimated that the increased insulation requirements would have cost consumers from $1,000 to $4,000 per new home constructed for an average annual energy cost savings of only $15.
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