Menu
City Planning hoping to see big results with 2017 energy code
As the year is coming to a close, Putnam County is continuing to see a modest interest in the construction of new homes. Thanks to the implementation of new regulations, they will be energy efficient and save homeowners thousands of dollars.
In February 2017, city officials approved the enforcement of an energy code which sets minimal standards for sustainability and conservation. The code adheres to a generally written process adopted by state lawmakers in 2012, which in turn takes its cue from recommendations by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
The DOE requirements provide three methods that contractors can utilize when building a home. The first is the prescriptive method, in which homes are built “by the book” from components that meet a certain standard. A more technical approach is taken with a method that employs data-driven software and modeling to calculate the flow of heat. The third is the performance method, where a third-party energy rater determines through a series of tests if the home as a whole is efficient.
The goal is to seal the “thermal envelope” of a house as much as possible. This means that heat transfer from the house’s interior to the exterior is kept at a minimum during the year, reducing the energy used.
Pat Thibodeau, as Greencastle’s building commissioner and inspector, has been at the forefront encouraging contractors and architects to adhere to the code.
For him, that has proven to be a challenge. This is not just because the standards outlined in the code’s 10 pages are new considerations builders take into account. There are different avenues that they can take in development.
“We were all a little nervous at the beginning,” Thibodeau said in his City Hall office. “The code seems so simple with its 10 pages, but it’s complicated because I can’t just say, ‘Do this.’ It’s really not that simple.”
Municipalities can differ in the ways they allow builders to adhere to the guidelines. Indiana at the state level has a generally similar code compared to the DOE, but Thibodeau said that Greencastle’s code may not be tailored to the needs of a larger city like Carmel.
No matter which method is used, a house must have a minimum number of air exchanges, meaning that a house must be as airtight as possible to conserve energy. This is determined by a blower door test, which pressurizes and depressurizes the space and determines where air leakage occurs in the home.
The level of efficiency is succinctly based on the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index, a nationally recognized guideline used to calculate costs based on scores from 150 to 0. A score of 150 is the least efficient, while a score of 0 is achieved through the use of renewable sources such as solar panels.
The third-party inspectors will then generate certificates that detail the house’s specifications and their compliance with the code in general.
“These newly built homes should always have a compliance certificate,” Thibodeau said. “If they don’t, you can’t have a way to know if the house is efficient unless you conduct the tests.
“There are a lot of little details that can affect the efficiency of a house. That also boils down to costs for both the homeowners and the contractors and what they can do.”
At the start, Thibodeau recognized that the various ways builders can go when constructing a house could overlap, creating confusion as to which method would be best. Soon after it was approved, Thibodeau and City Planner Scott Zimmerman invited local contractors to discuss the code and the three methods.
Since the meeting took place, both city officials and builders now seem to be more on the same page as to what is expected and how to work together.
“You have to work with all the trades,” Thibodeau said. “You really can’t work with only a general contractor, because energy efficiency involves everyone from landscapers to plumbers.”
However, Thibodeau also related that the three methods give builders options on how to best approach construction of a home.
“One of the best things about the code is that it is objective,” he said. “Even though it is open-ended as to how you can get there, if you meet the minimum standards, that’s it. You don’t have to supersede those.”
On the other hand, there is incentive for builders to construct a house as “tight” as possible; and it doesn’t have so much to do with cost as it does with their business prospects.
Jared Grable, the president and developer of Global Construction Management, expressed that consistency is key as he inspected the work being done on a home in the Whispering Winds subdivision.
“We don’t have any direct competition here,” he said, “but in other places, the more efficient we build them, I think the more business we have. And the code gives us an opportunity to control those costs.”
“The code really just waits,” Thibodeau said. “Contractors and homeowners can do what they want to get there, they just have to get there.”
“It makes different sense to different builders,” Grable added. “You can’t just do it.”
Despite this freedom, Grable related that a house such as that in Whispering Winds can normally be finished in 100 days, even if GCM is working on multiple homes at a time. This is one standard of growth that city planners have calculated into the savings formula.
Joe Spiker, the founder of Joe Spiker Excavating overseeing the independent construction of a large home near Albin Pond, believed that adhering to the code has forced contractors like himself to adapt for the better.
“There are contractors who are saying, ‘I’ve done this for 40 years, and what I’ve done may be the wrong way to do it,’” he said. “There is a definite learning curve, and it takes a little homework.”
More specialized contractors like Spiker Excavating tend to use the data-driven method, because the modeling software provides information that they would understand and be able to manipulate. However, Spiker acknowledged that general builders may not be so technical, but that they can achieve efficiency just as well.
Spiker credited the contractor’s meeting held in 2017 and Thibodeau’s openness with regard to inspections and decision-making for helping make the process easier and more streamlined.
“Once you find the path you need, it’s not that intimidating,” he said. “What makes sense here may not make sense there, but I have no complaint with the code or what Pat and the city has done to help us.”
It is projected that 20 homes in compliance with the code will be built annually, and will see homeowners save on average $1,250 a year on energy costs. If this trend continues and no inflation or rise in costs occurs, planners have estimated that more than $250,000 will be saved by 200 homeowners in 10 years.
Though new homes will have the benefit of the code to inspire energy savings, homes built before 1978 do not have to meet the code. However, additions and remodels can certainly be constructed to meet its guidelines through “voluntary” compliance, as Thibodeau put it.
From his point-of-view, any and all improvements with regard to energy conservation will promote growth on multiple fronts.
“It never stops,” Thibodeau said. “The savings not only help the homeowners, but they will cycle through the community in ways that may not have anything to do with building.”
The energy code’s enforcement is also seen at the top of local government as a positive step toward making residential areas in Greencastle more cost-effective and attractive overall.
Mayor Bill Dory in turn implied that building homes up to the code is only a part of a continuing sustainability initiative that will see results into the future.
“It fits in with us trying to be good stewards and do the right thing,” he said. “With energy bills being lower, that only means more money going back into the community.”