We urge the Evanston City Council to adopt the International Energy Conservation Code 2000 with 2001 Supplement.

What is an Energy Conservation Code?

It is a section of the building code that deals exclusively with Energy Conservation in building elements and Equipment. It works along side the Building, Plumbing, Electrical, and Mechanical Codes.

What will it cost me?

That depends. If you are building a 2,240 square foot house estimates are it will cost you about an additional $1,827, you would save, however, $261 per year in energy costs. If you were building a 10,000 square foot commercial building, it would cost you about an additional $3,393 and you would save about $1,136 per year.

Do other cities have this code?

More than 26 other Illinois Cities and Suburbs have passed up to date Energy Conservation Codes including, Chicago, Naperville, Peoria, Rockford, Lincolnshire, and Glenview.

In these times of tight budgets, will it cost the City more (to build)?

Well that depends on how much the City plans to BUILD or RENOVATE. The Code would be applicable to new or remodeled construction and increased construction costs due to energy efficiency measures would be a reflection of how much was built or renovated.

In these times of tight budgets, will it cost the City more (to enforce)?

There are a number of different enforcement mechanism that we can use to limit the amount of additional work on City Staff that range from Self-Certification to standard inspections. While we have not worked out the details, we would look forward to working with City staff to come up with a workable enforcement mechanism, probably a combination of information provided with the Architectural/Mechanical drawings and inspections. One of the nice things about the IECC is it comes with a set of forms to make the review of Architectural plans easier.

I have an old house in a historic district, how will this affect me?

Again, the Code is primarily directed to NEW construction. If you were remodeling a historic house the code would primarily apply in the areas of equipment, such as furnaces and would require you to install one of a certain efficiency.

If this is such a great idea, how come builders do not do it anyways?

Again, it comes down to first cost vs long-term costs. Typically ‘spec' builders and developers need to reduce first cost so they can bring condos and houses to market for less. But since they have no vested interest in the operating costs of the house, energy efficiency on an annual basis does not enter the equation. If you look at businesses that OWN their buildings, you will see they all construct to these higher standards.

More Information:

Len Sciarra,AIA
Prisco Serena Sturm Architects
work:  847-564-0370x22 or
home:  847-864-3547

Websites:

Energy code adoption assistance project:
http://www.energycodes.gov/
US Department of Energy (DOE) -Energy Information Administration Short-Term Energy Outlook
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/contents.html
US DOE -Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/contents.html
Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) - Electric Restructuring
http://www.icc.state.il.us/pluginillinois/consumer/plugin/

OTHER ENERGY ORGANIZATIONS

Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT)
http://www.cnt.org/
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
http://www.usgbc.org/
Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF)
http://www.illinoiscleanenergy.org/about/about.htm
Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC)
http://www.elpc.org/energy/Default.htm
Students for Ecological and Environmental Development at Northwestern University
http://groups.northwestern.edu/seed/new/seed1.html
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA)
http://www.mwalliance.org/
The American Solar Energy Society (ASES)
http://www.ases.org/

Revised June 22, 2003

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