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BII Program Helps Builders, Communities Cope With New Energy Regulations
Appear in: California Builder, November/December 2001
Outdoor Feel, Energy-Efficiency Top the List
Almost 40 local California governments are rewarding builders for building above the energy code. These communities all participate in the Building Industry Institute’s voluntary program, the Community Energy Efficiency Program (CEEP), a 3-year-old program praised by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the strongest green builder program in the country.
BII - a research and educational arm of CBIA, founded in 1993 - and our CEEP management team persuade local governments to reward builders who build above the energy code. Every CEEP jurisdiction offers either faster plan check, reduced or waived fees, and/or recognition to CEEP builders. Builders seem to like the faster plan check turnaround the most, since it saves money - often a lot of it.
One community that shaves time off its plan check process for CEEP builders is Santa Clarita, a suburb of Los Angeles. Said Centex Homes’ Eric Eilar: “We built above the energy code to ComfortWise guidelines, since it meets the CEEP requirements. The CEEP program is very Helpful. It saved at least a month in plan processing.” Saving a month in plan processing can save the typical Southern California homebuilder $1,800 per home - not bad for investing an additional $500 or $600 in energy-efficiency improvements required by the program.
Utilizing CEEP can also help sales and help builders meet the tough new energy standards. Monthly energy costs are the second-largest expense for homeowners, behind only mortgage payments. This fact causes consumers to think twice about their energy consumption. Recent changes to the Title 24 energy code brought additional requirements for both builders and local governments. The new regulations significantly increased the energy-efficiency requirements for new homes. CEEP helps builder and local governments to exceed the new requirements.
Why has the program grown from two participating local governments in 1999 to almost 40? “Hard work and good timing,” said Mike Hodgson, President of ConSol, a Stockton-based energy consulting firm that helps implement the program for BII. “We have managed to sign up virtually ever one of the busiest local governments in Southern California over the last two years because we provide value to the builders and value to the local governments.”
And local governments do like the program.
“We are very glad that the Southern California Edison funds this program through BII,” said Tom Ingram, Chief Building Official for Riverside County. “In return for faster plan check, the county gets cleaner plans, more efficient homes and third-party verification of the energy efficiency measures. It’s a “no-brainer.”
The CEEP program is relatively simple. Prior to submitting plans, the builder arranges through BII to meet with the local building official to discuss the project submission and CEEP mechanics.
Builders are asked to do the following:
- Each CEEP home plan must have a preliminary California Home Energy Efficiency Rating System (CHEERS) rating of 86 or greater before construction.
- Each home must have an HVAC system designed to Air Conditioning Contractors of America requirements, and the design stamped by an engineer registered in California.
- The home must meet the California Energy Commission’s “tight duct” criteria (total duct leakage must be below 6 percent).
- The builder must use formal contractor scopes of work, and notify installing subcontractors (insulation, windows, and HVAC) that the scopes of work will be used as the basis for quality inspections.
- Participating homes must have a final CHEERS rating of 86, before final inspection, documenting that they passed CHEERS inspections and diagnostics.
For a list of participating communities, visit the BII web site (www.thebii.org)
By George Burmeister
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