Archive photo
Eagle County has fallen short of its climate goals. New building codes may spur some progress.
The Eagle County Commissioner on Monday reviewed recent state laws and what the new building codes look like, whether and how those codes might exceed legal requirements. I heard a presentation about
John Gitchell, the county’s climate change action manager, said despite the region’s rapid growth, the county’s greenhouse effect is largely due to Holy Cross Energy’s shift to clean, renewable energy sources. He told the commissioner that gas emissions have remained roughly flat for the past few years.
As of July 1, state jurisdictions are required to adopt the 2021 edition of the International Energy Conservation Act’s electrical provisions.
To guide what building codes should look like, the county hired Lotus Engineering and Sustainability to analyze the new construction energy standards compared to the 2015 standards. The county now uses that code.
Support local journalism
The Lotus team compared different building types and the potential costs of the changes.
Gitchell said he and other county officials are meeting with local builders.Gitchell said a concern from the sector was that the move to electric-ready homes or all-electric units would be costly and affordable. is that it can affect the price.
Lotus’ Kim Schlaepfer said fossil fuels must be removed from new construction to meet the county’s climate goals. This may include retrofitting existing buildings. But Gitchell says it’s a slow process.
“It’s hard to change existing structures,” says Gitchell.
Lotus’ report examines the potential cost implications for single-family homes, multi-family homes, and commercial structures.
Based on these studies, the return on investment for a 2021 Code-compliant building is 7.2 years for single-family homes and just 3.7 years for commercial buildings. The payback period for multi-family housing is 9.2 years.
If the county adopts a standard requiring all-electric service, which exceeds the base standard, it adds $4,000 to $6,000 to the cost of a single-family home and $3,000 to $5,000 per unit of a 14-unit multifamily dwelling. may be family building.
Lotus research also shows that an all-electric single-family home can save hundreds of dollars a year compared to similar structures with both gas and appliances and heating.
Beyond costs, electrification has “huge” benefits on greenhouse gas emissions, says Schlaepfer.
Going forward, Schlepfer said county officials will need to review existing codes and align new regulations with regulations passed in neighboring jurisdictions.
County resilience director Tori Franks said the process will continue in a Jan. 11 webinar, where he will hear from builders and representatives of neighboring communities.
Whatever the decision, Commissioner Matt Scherr said he hopes the 2021 code will be used as a “floor” for more ambitious efforts.
“In my opinion, we are a little behind,” Scherr said. “We don’t want to fall behind.”
