New Energy Future In The News

Homeowners will pay slightly more for construction costs but save money in the long-term under a proposed building code that requires better-insulated homes and reduces Chicago's carbon emissions, city officials say.

A joint committee on energy and buildings at City Hall unanimously passed the code yesterday after environmental organizations and contractors’ and builders’ associations joined to support it.

“This is really a pocketbook issue for homeowners and renters. The energy cost savings will increase over time as the cost to heat and cool homes inevitably rises,” says acting Commissioner of Buildings Richard J. Monocchio.

The new code covers new homes and commercial buildings as well as additions. It will apply to all building permits obtained on or after April 22, 2009, which is Earth Day.

Builders and consumers can comply with the code by using insulation, windows and other building materials that meet energy standards in the code. 

Or they can use a federal Energy Department software package to enter details on their building materials and mechanical systems. The software determines whether  the building as a whole meets energy standards. 

There are also provisions encouraging green roofs and those with shallow slopes, which reflect solar heat rather than absorbing it. That can help lower overall temperatures in the city and electricity use for air conditioners.

Monocchio says a building department study found that the cost of implementing the new code in a variety of building types amounted to less than one percent of construction costs.

But consumers will recoup their investment through energy savings that will be “significant immediately,” says Monocchio.

He says a conservative estimate has single-family home saving more than  $200 in the first year.

Builders and developers will find the new code easier to understand, while inspectors will find it easier to enforce, he says.

The old code contains a range of standards for things like windows and insulation spread across eight tables. Now there is a single insulation standard and one table.

“It uses existing, common, proven construction techniques and materials to achieve the goals of the ordinance…that’s important for its affordability,” says Paul Colgan, executive director of the Homebuilders Association of Greater Chicago.

Department of Environment Commissioner Suzanne Malek-McKenna says the new code will make buildings up to 15 percent more energy efficient.

She also estimates it will slash 1.3 million tons of carbon
dioxide emissions by 2020. The city wants to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas  emissions by 16.5 million tons over the next 12 years.

Environmentalists have long seen building energy efficiency as a crucial, if unsexy, part of conservation and pollution reduction.

Brian Granahan, attorney for Environment Illinois, says it the new code is a key step forward.

“You’d think this stuff would be intuitive,” says Granahan. “But it’s not done on a widespread basis.  And, you see builders go beyond basic code a lot more often in states that have strong minimum standards in place.”

The measure must still be approved by the full City Council before it takes effect.