international energy conservation code

[Bob Orts]

Rob, didn't rhe County take their lead from the State? I understood that the start of all this was when the State started looking at one statewide building code and the IECC. Since the State "takeover" of building codes is way down the road, the County did their own. But all the major industries had years of say on the codes. Hawaii County just took what the Hawaii County building interest had said to the state. Is that about the way it come about?

[Rob Tucker]

I can't say. I was at the council meeting last year and listened to the yammer but did not really take notes. For sure there will always be something in the code that people will complaint about. I assume some complaints have merit and some are just complaints. I suspect that Emily has received complaints and wants to push the whole issue past November for political reasons.

[kjlpahoa]

Rob, what you suspect is only half right. She has received many complaints but there is no political motivation in trying to postpone the effective date. It is a lot easier to postpone the date and make the review and necessary changes than to let it go into effect and after the fact make changes that would basically rewrite the code. Maybe some of that yammer made sense and should have been listened to.

[mdd7000]

Didn't Emily vote FOR this a year ago?

[Rob Tucker]

kjlpahoa,

The yammer I referred to apparently made sense and apparently was listened to. The council approved the bill with Emily's vote in favor. I just didn't take notes at the time and am recalling from memory. Were you there?

It is a bit suspicious that a year later.... election time.... she develops second thoughts and want to put it off till after election. But heck, maybe having more review of it will be good. I think a review of all her votes this past two terms is a good idea.

[kjlpahoa]

Rob
It is not suspicious it is only coincidental that the effective date is one year later. It only comes to people’s attention when one has to start applying it. I was one of the constituents that found out about the Code going into effect so started looking at it. I also was the one suggesting a postponement until it could be reviewed. I have many years experience writing Building codes, standards and ordinances so I could recognize a problem. Emily took immediate action so the issues could be addressed now, not after the election. The only thing that happens after the election is a new effective date. If this new ordinance passes, as it should, all the work and problem solving will be done by the election. Let’s give Emily credit where credit is due.

[Obie]

I believe the correct time to look into the code and make corrections was before the council voted on it a year ago.

On a funny side note the council actually bragged about passing this ordinance in the 2008-2009 Annual Report.

NOTEWORTHY ORDINANCES ENACTED

Ordinance No. 09-48 amended Chapter 5, Article 2 of the Hawai‘i
County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended), relating to building
energy efficiency standards. Repealed Division 1-14 of Chapter 5,
Article 2 and replaced with the provisions with the 2006 International
Energy Conservation Code, March 2007 Edition, as amended. This
enables the County to meet national and international energy
standards, and to ensure residential and commercial buildings be
energy efficient.

The complete report is here :
http://www.hawaii-county.com/annual_repo...ar0809.pdf

[kjlpahoa]

[quote]Originally posted by Obie

I believe the correct time to look into the code and make corrections was before the council voted on it a year ago.
]
I fully agree, but that was not done. The Council really did not know or understand the complex, technical aspects of the adopting Ordinance. The subject and intent sounded good. Somebody just failed to inform the Council of its technical componants.

[David M]

QUOTE from kjlpahoa: - "Somebody just failed to inform the Council of its technical componants."

Seems to happen ALOT, no matter the subject. Is this happening in the budget process as well? Weigh in on Rob's budget thread please kjlpahoa.

David

Ninole Resident

[Obie]

All of the councils records are online.This is an excerpt from a communication back in 2007.What is not to understand here ?
There are dozens of records of meetings about changing the code.
What was the council doing during all these meetings and presentations ?


PURPOSE OF RESIDENTIAL CODE
1. Lower monthly utility bills fox the homeowner over the life of the home;
2. Reduce electricity growth rates and stress on the electricity grid;
3. Reduce County dependency on imported fossil fuel.
EXISTING RESIDENTIAL CODE
Hawaii County's existing energy code has not been updated since 1994. The current code requires homes designed for central air conditioning have R-19 insulation in the roof and R -11 in the walls. No codes exist for homes designed without air conditioning or designed for window-unit air conditioners.
The "R" stands fox resistance to heat transfer. The higher the number, the greater the resistance of the structure to allow the sun's heat to transfer from the outside to the home's interior.

PROPOSED RESIDENTIAL CODE
The proposed code will apply to all new homes and deal with the roof, walls and windows. The reason for applying to all homes is that many homes axe uncomfortably hot because they are inadequately insulated and allow the sun to heat the interior to over 90 degrees on hot days. Homes complying with the proposed code will be at least eight
degrees, and in some cases, 12 degrees cooler than an uninsulated home. The reduced temperature often negates the need for air conditioning. If conditioning is needed, a smaller unit can be purchased at a considerably lower price.
In the roof, the proposed code would allow not only conventional fiberglass or foam insulation, but the use of radiant barriers, cool roofs and solar fans as means of keeping the attic, and hence the interior naturally cool. Each of these methods is extremely
affordable. The counties of Honolulu and Maui have this roof code in place.
R-11 would be required in the walls, with credit given fox reflective exterior coatings.
This option offers more flexibility in R-11.
Windows would have a minimum 0.40 solar heat gain.coefficient. This means that only 40% (or less) of the sun's heat striking a window would penetrate through the window.
A standard single-pane window allows about 90% of the heat through, creating a greenhouse effect in the home. This high-performance glass is now the industry standard by all manufacturers, making the price cost-competitive with the older types of window glass.