Full Description

This study evaluates the degradation in envelope efficiency that could potentially result from a performance based energy code allowing unrestricted compliance trade-offs for improved high-efficiency equipment, including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), domestic hot water (DHW) equipment and/or local renewable energy generation (e.g., photovoltaic (PV) panels). The latest edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) restricts envelope efficiency trade-offs since from an energy, resilience, comfort and moisture standpoint, a robust thermal envelope is critical to make the house system work as intended. The aim of this study is to conduct a simulation-based evaluation to systematically and quantitatively analyze the national energy and cost impact from trade-offs on the recent IECC code edition.