Connecticut
Energy CodePrograms
This section is devoted to programs and activities for local building officials and inspectors.
1) IECC 2009 / ASRAE 90.1 - 2007; Establishing a Baseline for Compliance
2) Geothermal: Understanding Ground Source Heat Pump Applications
3) Basics of Solar for Building Inspectors and Officials
4) Solar Thermal Application
5) Solar Photovoltaic Application and Interconnections
1) IECC 2009 / ASRAE 90.1 - 2007
Establishing a Baseline for Compliance
The State of Connecticut has updated portions of the state building code with new energy code standards which took effect on October 7, 2011. With this action, we have completed three of the five steps required to demonstrate compliance with the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code portion of the 2005 State Building Code. So far, the State of Connecticut has:
- adopted the new code,
- surveyed Local Building Officials on their concerns over code compliance
- provided Local Building Officials and inspectors with extensive training opportunities to ensure successful conversion to the new code.
As a requirement of receiving federal funding for code training and related activities, Connecticut must also:
- establish a baseline for code compliance in 2012
- put in place a process for identifying ongoing training needs
- tracking compliance each year to ensure that 90% of all projects built in 2017 are in compliance with the energy code.
The Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University has been contracted to work with Douglas Schanne from the Department of Construction Services, Division of Fire and Building Services, Office of Education and Data Management to assist in establishing the 2012 baseline. To do this we are using the Department of Energy (DOE) guidelines for “Measuring State Code Compliance.” The process has three parts; first is to have building officials determine which parts of new code are most often found in non-compliance to code at the time of plan review. Second, building officials will determine which parts of new code are most often found in non-compliance to code at the time of site inspection. By code officials providing this information, they will help the department focus the code training programs on the areas of building construction that impede our goal of achieving 90% code compliance. The third and final step is to select a sample of completed projects and have an independent third party perform inspections to determine if Connecticut’s annual rate of compliance.
At this time, we are looking to have Local Code Officials are volunteering to conduct plan reviews on at least 44 residential projects and 44 commercial projects that were issued building permits on or after October 8, 2011. DOE’s Building Energy Codes Program (BECP) has developed both residential and commercial data collection checklists for conducting your review. The checklists are available as paper checklists or in electronic form as Word documents and Excel spreadsheets. They can be downloaded both the forms and instructions from DOE at: http://www.energycodes.gov/arra/compliance_checklists.stm.
The Department of Energy's Building Energy Codes Program (BECP) has also developed software tool to help states measure and report compliance with their building energy codes. Their “Score + Store” program will be used by us to collect, store, and report our overall compliance rate. ISE will enter data into this system from checklists to provide aggregated results for reporting on a statewide basis.
OEDM and ISE are working with local building code office on completing surveys of residential and commercial projects. If you have any questions, contact William Leahy at (860 465-0252 or Doug Schanne at (860) 685-8194.
Mailing Address:
William Leahy
Institute for Sustainable Energy
Eastern Connecticut State University
83 Windham Street
Willimantic, CT 06226
Or e-mail to:
2) Understanding Ground Source Heat Pump Applications.
Instructor: Peter Governale, Tuscany Design Build, Inc.
Sponsored by: the Institute for Sustainable Energy at ECSU
This program is offered for municipal building officials and inspectors at five locations in Connecticut in “Understanding Ground Source Heat Pump Applications”.
The instructor provided technical handouts for each student; along with a power-point presentation showing examples of systems being installed in CT and instruction tailored to the needs and technical ability of experienced building code officials and inspectors. These can be found below
This provided material is comprised of topics related to:
1. Identifying types and design of geothermal systems
2. Defining geothermal system’s close relationship to the environment.
3. Demonstrating how building loads impacts system design
4. Why proper sizing is important for the system inspectors
5. What to look for in system performance related to building codes
Power Point (PDF Format)
Resources: (PDF format)
3) Basics of Solar Theory for Building Officials and Inspectors
This lesson provides and introduction to solar theory and systems. Focus is on the following topics:
a) Energy Reduction Techniques
b) Solar Theory
d) Roofs and Attachments
c) System Designs and Components
Presentation:
Basics of Solar for Building Officials [PDF]
Presenter: Peter Governale - Geothermal and Solar Installer, Community College Instructor
peter@tuscanydesignbuild.com
4) Solar Thermal Application
This lesson describes the basic theory and application of solar thermal technology as well as building code considerations. Focus is on the following topics:
a) Basic Theory for Solar Thermal
b) Roof and Attachment Considerations
c) System Design, Components, and Layouts
d) Solar Site Evaluation for Solar Thermal
e) Building Code Considerations
Presentation:
Solar Thermal Installations for Building Officials [PDF]
Presenter: William Lussier - Building Official - Meridan; Solar Thermal Installer
castawaybill@juno.com
5) Solar Photovoltaic Application and Interconnections
This lesson focuses on solar photovoltaic theory, systems, and interconnection. Focus is on the following topics:
a) Basic Theory for Solar Photovolatics
b) System Design, Components, and Layouts
c) Solar Site Evaluation for Solar Photovoltaics
d) Building Code Considerations
e) Interconnections with Internal Electrical System
f) Interconnections with the Grid
Presentation:
Photovoltaics - Things to look for [PDF]
Presenter: Mike Kocsmierski - Spirit Solar; Energy Engineer, Solar Installer, Community College Instructor
mikek@spiritsolar.net
This program is being brought to you by the Department of Education and Data Management, the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern CT State University through funding provided from the Department of Labor, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the Energy Efficiency.
Questions?
Bill Leahy
Phone: 860-465-0252
Fax: 860-465-0281
Last Updated: 07 September 2012
