Update on the IECC Commercial and Residential Consensus Committee Schedule and Activities.
As a reminder, the International Code Council accepted code change proposals for the development of its 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and Chapter 11 of the International Residential Code (IRC) by October 12.   There are 190 of the proposals for the Residential Provisions that will be reviewed and acted on by the IECC Residential Consensus Committee. There are 256 of the proposals for the Commercial Provisions that will be addressed by the IECC Commercial Consensus Committee.  At this time,  The ICC staff does not have an approximate date on when a combined monograph will be ready publishing all proposals.   But all submitted proposals are viewable at the ICC site energy.cdpaccess  for early review.
It is important to continue to monitor and interact with the activities of both of these committees because the result of their recommendations on the proposals will be included in the 2024 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code and Chapter 11 of the International Residential Code (IRC). Once finalized, the 2024 Edition of the IECC will be evaluated by the Department of Energy for energy efficiency improvements who, by federal law,  will then present this edition to states to consider adoption as their energy code.   With the heavy involvement of organizations and individuals supportive of all electric homes and businesses as well as anti-fossil fuel advocates, the natural gas industry will need to be prepared to address any proposals that would eliminate or restrict the application of the direct use of natural gas. It’s imperative for preserving natural gas applications to be aware and get involved in the IECC process. To assist in this involvement , the following is  the schedule of upcoming meetings of both committees. The next  IECC Commercial Consensus Committee meeting will be held on  Thursday, November 18th at 1pm Eastern. The meeting link is here. The agenda  will be posted on the Committee’s website in the upcoming days. The next meeting of the IECC Residential Consensus Committee is Tuesday, November 16th at 2pm Eastern. The meeting link is here. Agenda will be posted on the Committee’s website in the upcoming days. The draft Subcommittee voting member roster is posted on the Committee webpage for review. You can also find meeting dates, times, and calendar links on the IECC events webpage and search under IECC.  AGA staff will and BECS committee members are encouraged to monitor and participate in these committee activities that will help ensure that the direct use of natural gas remains a viable and important energy option recognized in these standards.

Update on Draft Addendum to ANSI/ASHRAE 62.2 Standard that Would Prohibit Unvented, Gas-Fired Space Heaters.
Last week we reported that  AGA had submitted comments to the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) opposing a proposal to the societies “ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Residential Buildings” that would prohibit the installation of unvented (sometimes referred to as vent-free) natural gas and propane space heaters.  The ASHRAE Standard 62.2 is an American National Standard (ANS) consensus developed standard that has been and continues to be adopted by many states and jurisdictions throughout the United States. This is the first proposed outright ban of a natural gas appliance in the ASHRAE 62.2 standard. We understand that 34 public comments, including AGA’s, were submitted in opposition of approval of the addendum and 1 in its favor. The 62.2 Committee will now have to respond to the public comments and we will provide updates on this activity as it progresses within the ASHRAE standards development process and continue efforts to have it rejected.

State Codes Activity Update.
Attached is a weekly feature of the “Friday Update” covering state code calendar activities as presented by the online utility “Fiscal Note,” which is sponsored by APGA and AGA Code and Standards. Please review the update and determine if there are state code activities that impact your service territory or organization.