BCAP Updates

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The Building Codes Assistance Project releases regular updates on building energy codes through its quarterly BCAP Newsletter and weekly Code Alert Bulletin.

BCAP Newsletters are quarterly summaries of what's been happening at the Building Codes Assistance Project and building energy code progress around the nation. To access the full archive, click here.

BCAP Code Alert Bulletins are released weekly by the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) and its website, the Online Code Environment & Advocacy Network (OCEAN). Code Alert Bulletins are designed to share information and support timely participation in state and local activities related to the adoption and implementation of building energy codes. The bulletins highlight immediate opportunities to influence state and local policy outcomes, indicate code status, and recommend contacts for action. If you know of activity that should be on this bulletin or would like to sign up for this bujlletin, contact Matt Kerns at (202) 530-2252 or mkerns@ase.org.

Some of the content featured in recent newletters and bulletins includes:

Nine Long Island, New York Code Jurisdictions Adopt HERS Index Score Option to Building Energy Codes

Nine municipalities located in Long Island, New York have recognized a HERS Index Score as a code compliance option. The following communities have incorporated the HERS Index into their building energy codes:
Town of Brookhaven
Town of Babylon
Town of Hempstead
Town of Huntington
Town of Islip
Town of North Hempstead
Town of Oyster Bay
Town of Riverhead
Town of Southampton
These Long Island communities have joined jurisdictions from Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Massachusetts, and New Mexico in incorporating home energy ratings as a compliance option to energy codes.

Full List of Jurisdictions with HERS Compliance Option

For more information, contact Paul Karrer of BCAP at pkarrer@ase.org.

Adoption and Compliance Portals Launched on OCEAN

To further improve the quality of OCEAN users’ online experience, BCAP improved how users access and engage with OCEAN Resources via new access points on the homepage called portals. BCAP has published an Adoption Support portal with a policy action toolkit and a Compliance Support portal.

The Adoption Portal is designed to help state officials, energy code supporters, and consumers understand the process taken to adopt an energy code. The Compliance Portal links to programs, tools, and resources states and municipalities can use to help set and meet compliance goals, cosponsored by IMT.

Read more about the Adoption and Compliance Portals.

SWEEP Releases Report on Utility Energy Efficiency Best Practices

The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) released the report, The $20 Billion Bonanza: Best Practice Electric Utility Energy Efficiency Programs and their Benefits for the Southwest, acknowledging the efforts of the region's utilities over the past decade and heralding the potential for growing success over the next decade. ACEEE was a contributing author on the report and worked with SWEEP to analyze a comprehensive set of eighteen best practice electric utility energy efficiency programs for each of the Southwest states' residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. The programs include low-income weatherization, incentives for efficient consumer products, custom retrofits for large businesses, and combined heat and power, to name a few. The report also outlines critical design elements that will allow these programs to reach more customers and savings, such as innovative and effective marketing techniques, financial incentives, and behavioral approaches.

For more Information: OCEAN Story Link | Full Report | Blog Summary