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Comparing the Residential Provisions on the 2015 IECC with the Corresponding Previsions of the 2015 IECC for Single-Family Residential Construction in Texas.
Abstract
The purpose of this analysis was to determine the stringency of residential provisions in the 2015 IECC
when compared to the corresponding provisions in the 2012 IECC for residential buildings in Texas. In
order to perform the assessment, the mandatory, prescriptive and performance residential provisions were
compared.
A similar study conducted at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for both single-family
and multi-family homes in the United States, claims source energy savings in the range of 0.93% - 1.19%
for the three climate zones of Texas (Mendon et al. 2014). It should be noted that the PNNL report
provides this assessment only for prescriptive provisions in the 2012 and 2015 versions of the IECC. By
comparing prescriptive provisions, the report does not really assess the impact of lower U-values for walls
and ceilings in their calculations. In addition, the report incorporates updated provisions for outdoor
temperature setback control for hot water boilers, a very small fraction of which may be applicable to
single family residential buildings in the climate zones of Texas. Furthermore, the report assesses new
requirements for heated water circulation systems and heat trace systems as well as demand-activated
control for recirculating systems. Savings obtained from these measures have been added to multifamily
buildings. Finally, the report calculates the DHW pipe insulation requirements for both single family and
multifamily homes. These calculations are performed independently and later are included in the results
from simulation models. However, these requirements are prescriptive and do not impact the
specifications in the performance path of the code.
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Citation
Mukhopadhyay, J.; Baltazar, J. C.; Ellis, S.; Haberl, J.S.; Yazdani, B. (2014). Comparing the Residential Provisions on the 2015 IECC with the Corresponding Previsions of the 2015 IECC for Single-Family Residential Construction in Texas.. Energy Systems Laboratory. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /154754.