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FLORIDA: RAISING THE BAR FOR CODE ADOPTION

Abstract
In July of 2007 Governor Crist issued an executive order directing
the Florida Building Commission to amend the Florida Energy Effi-
ciency Code for Building Construction to increase energy efficiency
requirements for residential and commercial buildings by 15%. This
increase in efficiency was implemented by the 2009 Supplement to
the 2007 Florida Building Code, which took effect March 1, 2009. In
2008 he signed into law a schedule for increasing energy efficiency
requirements of the Florida Building Code, of which the energy
code is a part, in 10% increments in each new edition of the code
for a total of 50% by 2019. In 1980, Florida became one of the first
states in the US to adopt a statewide mandatory energy code. The
state has been a leader in establishing requirements for the per- Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons, Credit
formance of central forced air space heating and cooling systems and controlling air infiltration due to air pressure balance
between indoor spaces. It has focused on balancing building energy efficiency with indoor air quality priorities for its hot
and humid climate. Historically, Florida has maintained its energy efficiency requirements equal to or greater than the
benchmark national standards as certified to the US Department of Energy over the past 20 years.

The Issue
The method by which the increments of energy efficiency increase will be implemented is the subject of ongoing analysis
by the Florida Building Commission. Beginning with the 2010 Florida Building Code, building efficiency requirements will be
based on the International Energy Conservation Code, which by law must be amended to be no less stringent than the re-
quirements of the Florida Energy Efficiency Code for Building Construction. Florida’s code is fundamentally a performance
code that allows full trade-off between efficiencies of building envelope, space heating/cooling, service water heating and,
for commercial buildings, lighting systems. The IECC is primarily a prescriptive compliance code that includes a perform-
ance alternative. Its requirements for both prescriptive and performance methods of compliance are crafted to defer ser-
vice water and HVAC systems to federal appliance efficiency regulation and focus efficiency increases on building envelope
components. Florida is evaluating the impact the two different approaches will have on the viability of imposing changes in
the marketplace. These changes will be vital to achieve the incremental energy code improvements established by Florida
law that culminate in a 50% increase in energy efficiency by 2019.

Background
Florida imposed mandatory building energy efficiency requirements through its statewide building code system in 1980.
Within 16 years, the state met a goal established in 1982 targeting a 50% increase in building energy efficiency require-
ments. Subsequently, Florida’s energy code kept pace with the building energy efficiency performance levels established
by ASHRAE Standard 90.1 for commercial buildings and by the Model Energy Code and then later the International Energy
Conservation Code for residential buildings. Upon taking office in 2007, Governor Charlie Crist refocused attention on
building energy efficiency in his climate change initiative, first through an executive order and then through legislation that
established stepwise increases in requirements to achieve a 50% increase in efficiency requirements by 2019. Beginning in

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 FLORIDA: RAISING THE BAR FOR CODE ADOPTION
2010, companion legislated directives require the Florida Building Code energy efficiency requirements to start with the
IECC. They also mandate the establishment and implementation of a consumer-focused cost effectiveness test to evaluate
any changes to those requirements. Florida’s current energy code is effectively integrated into building design and con-
struction practices, and 95% of compliance submittals utilize its performance compliance method. The unrestricted trade-
offs between building systems efficiency has historically provided easier acceptance of stringency increases and benefited
consumers by increasing demand for higher efficiency components, which is followed by increased production and price
competitiveness. Constraints on tradeoffs, such as those established in the IECC, must be evaluated for their potential im-
pact on triennial 10% increases in efficiency and the overall mandate for 50% stringency increase in the code by 2019.

Other Code Advances

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) made $3.1 billion available to states that meet spe-
cific criteria related to energy efficiency, including building codes with efficiency requirements equivalent to the 2009 IECC
and ASHRAE 90.1-2007. In its certification to the US DOE, Florida disclosed that its current code exceeds the requirements
of ASHRAE 90.1-2007 and is within 2-3% as stringent as the requirements of the 2009 IECC. Within the eight year time-
frame for achieving equivalency with the national model standards, Florida will have implemented new editions of its code
that will require 40% increased stringency compared to the 2006 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2004.
Further, Florida, through research conducted by the Florida Solar Energy Center, will be developing an online version of
the FLARES software tool for better access by users, as well as improved compliance tracking.
Additional research by FSEC will also develop cost-effectiveness guidelines. As part of the Florida Energy Act of 2008, a
directive was issued to the Florida Building Commission to develop a rule for determining the cost effectiveness of future
energy efficiency upgrades to the Florida Energy Code. The legislation requires that the new economic evaluation be
adopted and applied to the 2010 update of the energy provisions of the Florida Building Code.
To assist in developing the new state rule for a cost effectiveness test of the Florida Building Code, the FSEC was tasked
with creating a report on economic indicators and making recommendations on standards to be included in the cost effec-
tiveness test rule. The report, “Energy Efficiency Cost-Effectiveness for Residential Energy Code Update Processes,” au-
thored by Philip Fairey and Robin Vieira, was released on February 27, 2009. The report is posted on the RESNET web site.

Lessons Learned
Building codes are traditionally imposed under policies for protection of the health, safety and welfare of the public. The
aggressive increase in energy code stringency creates a major strain on the regulatory bodies that adopt and enforce these
public welfare policy tools. Flexibility for regulated parties to make different decisions/choices on how to comply is critical
to the political side of regulation. The pace at which codes and the attainment of aggressive goals can lead change is pri-
marily driven by these political considerations. Also, energy conservation requirements have impacts on health and safety
factors such as indoor air quality. Code requirements in hot and humid climates must be crafted with an understanding of
the interactions between the types and sources of heating and cooling loads. They must also take into consideration the
ability of space conditioning equipment to handle those loads sufficiently in order for them to provide conditions that
maintain a healthy indoor environment.
This Case study was conducted with staff input from the Florida Department of Community Affairs, Building Code Division.
BCAP acknowledges and appreciates their support.

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