Standard 189.1 Deemed Compliance Option for IGCC; ICC Announces Availability of New Green Code

ATLANTA – The building industry now has greater flexibility in the design of
high performance buildings through a change impacting application of the
green building standard from ASHRAE, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) included in the International
Green Construction Code (IgCC).

ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1-2011, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, provides a green building foundation for those who strive to design, build
and operate high performance buildings. It covers key topic areas of site sustainability, water-use efficiency, energy ef¬ficiency, indoor environmental quality and the building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials and resources.  

Standard 189.1 now serves as a compliance option with the newly published
IgCC, developed by the International Code Council (ICC) and endorsed by
cooperating sponsors ASTM International and the American Institute of
Architects.  The change allows permit applicants – rather than the
authorities having jurisdiction – the option to use Standard 189.1 as the
path of compliance. In earlier versions of the IgCC, Standard 189.1 was
deemed a “jurisdictional compliance option,” meaning code jurisdictions had
to choose between the provisions of Standard 189.1 and the IgCC in
determining which compliance path to take.

“ASHRAE is pleased to see this change take place, allowing building
designers, owners and contractors to choose to design to Standard 189.1,
instead of the choice being made solely by the jurisdiction setting the
code,” Ron Jarnagin, ASHRAE president, said. “With today’s release of the
2012 IgCC, jurisdictions now have a viable green code at their disposal.
Standard 189.1 stands on equal footing within the IgCC to provide a more
complete set of options for governments and project teams alike.”

“IES also fully supports the change that removes the restriction,” Rita
Harrold, director of technology, said. “The resulting freedom of choice will
benefit all segments of the construction industry involved in developing
design criteria for high performance buildings.”

The 2012 IgCC serves as a new model code for constructing and remodeling
residential and commercial structures and is expected to increase
sustainability, cost savings and job growth while providing direction for
safe and sustainable building design and construction, according to the
International Code Council.

“The IgCC adds to the strong foundation of guidance to move the industry
forward in regards to high performance buildings,” Jarnagin said. “The
document brings together the code expertise of ICC with technical expertise
of ASHRAE to create a comprehensive green building code to improve overall
performance of buildings, including reduction of energy consumption.”

“Today, the Code Council and its cooperating sponsors announce a new green
construction code that will make a contribution toward healthier, lower
impact and more sustainable building practices,” Richard P. Weiland, CEO of
the ICC, said.  “The International Green Construction Code published today
was developed during the last three years with input from code and
construction industry professionals, environmental organizations, policy
makers and the public. Our community was diligent in developing a code that
is not only adoptable, usable and enforceable, but also flexible and
adaptable. We expect this new model code, like the family of other ICC
Codes, to be adopted across the country and used globally.”

Early versions of the IgCC released during the development of the code
already have been put into use by states and jurisdictions demonstrating the
need and demand for safe and sustainable construction.

The IgCC was developed at public hearings with input from experts in code
development and enforcement, architecture, engineering, building science,
environmental advocacy, government, business, academia and the public.

The IgCC is the first model code to include sustainability measures for an
entire construction project and its site – from design, through
construction, certificate of occupancy and beyond. It establishes minimum
green requirements for buildings and complements voluntary rating systems.
The IgCC offers flexibility to jurisdictions which adopt the code by
establishing several levels of compliance, starting with the core provisions
of the code, and then offering “jurisdictional requirement” options that can
be customized to fit the needs of a local community.  A jurisdiction can
also require higher performance through the use of “project electives”
provisions.

The code acts as an overlay to the existing set of International Codes,
including provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code and
ICC-700, the National Green Building Standard, and incorporates ASHRAE
Standard 189.1 as an alternate path to compliance. The IgCC provides model
code language that establishes a baseline for new and existing buildings
related to energy conservation, water efficiency, site impacts, building
waste, material resource efficiency and other sustainability measures. The
IgCC will be updated alongside the other model codes developed through the
Code Council’s open, transparent and consensus-based code development
process.