The DNREC Division of Climate, Coastal, & Energy will conduct a public hearing on proposed revisions to the Regulations for the State Energy Conservation Code (Docket #2019-R-CCE-0020). (Public Comment Period Closed)

These amendments are being proposed to adopt the 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (2018 IECC) and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard 90.1-2016 (ASHRAE 2016) in their entirety as the statewide energy conservation code. Delaware’s Energy Conservation Code Act (16 Del.C. § 7602) requires DNREC to adopt the most recent and/or highest available version of the IECC Code and the ASHRAE standard.

The proposed amendments may be inspected at DNREC’s offices at 100 W. Water Street, Dover, DE, and online in the Delaware Register of Regulations.

For additional information on this proposed regulatory promulgation, contact Jessica C. Quinn at 100 W. Water Street, Ste 5A, Dover, DE 19904; by phone at 302-735-3485; or, by email at Jessica.Quinn@delaware.gov.

Persons wishing to comment on the proposed amendments may do so either orally or in written form at the public hearing on December 3, 2019.  In lieu of attending the public hearing, written comment may be submitted to the Hearing Officer via the online comment form, via email to DNRECHearingComments@delaware.gov, or via USPS to the below address.

Public Hearing Officer

Theresa L. Newman
Office of the Secretary
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
89 Kings Highway
Dover, DE 19901

Transcript, Hearing Officer’s Report and Secretary’s Order

Public Hearing Transcript

Hearing Officer’s Report

Secretary’s Order No. 2020-CCE-0014 — Approving Proposed Regulation Amendments to 7 DE Admin. Code 2101: Regulations for State Energy Conservation Code (Effective Date: June 11, 2020)

Related Documents

Energy Conservation Code Act (16 Del.C. § 7602)

Regulations for State Energy Conservation Code (7 DE Admin. Code 2101)

Proposed Regulations (PDF) as published in the Register of Regulations (23 DE Reg. 363) on November 1, 2019

DNREC Exhibits

Exhibit 1 — Start Action Notice 2019-04 Regulations for State Energy Conservation Code, signed on April 4, 2019.

Exhibit 2 — Delaware Energy Code Coalition meeting agendas from March 22, 2017 through January 23, 2019 where the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), 2018 IECC, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 90.1-2013, and ASHRAE 90.1-2016 were evaluated and discussed with Delaware stakeholders.

Exhibit 3 — Comments received by the Department between January 2017 and February 2019 from stakeholders sharing their opinions on updating the statewide energy conservation code.

Exhibit 4 — Memorandum from Matt Socks, Optimal Energy, Inc (Department technical consultant) to Robert Underwood, DNREC DCCE, dated March 20, 2019 analyzing the cost and energy impacts associated with adopting the 2018 IECC without weakening the air tightness requirements in the Code.

Exhibit 5 — Copy of the “Preliminary Energy Costs and Savings Estimates: 2018 IECC Residential Requirements” (PNNL-28650), published April 2019 by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

Exhibit 6 — Memorandum from Matthew Tyler, U.S. DOE PNNL, to Jessica Quinn, DNREC DCCE, dated October 2, 2019 regarding the preliminary results of the U.S. DOE’s cost-effectiveness study for ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2016 for the State of Delaware.

Exhibit 7 — Memorandum from Z. Todd Taylor, U.S. DOE PNNL, to Jessica Quinn, DNREC DCCE, dated October 3, 2019 titled “Preliminary Cost-Effectiveness of the 2018 IECC for the State of Delaware.”

Exhibit 8 — Copy of the State Energy Code Tracking Table published by Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) showing the status of Energy Code adoption in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states, updated October 2019.

Exhibit 9 — Notice of this public hearing as it appeared on the State of Delaware Public Meetings Calendar, posted November 1, 2019.

Exhibit 10 — Copy of the legal notice regarding the proposed amendments to 7 Del. Admin. C. §2101 Regulations for State Energy Conservation Code as posted at the main entryways of DNREC’s Richardson & Robbins Building.

Exhibit 11 — Copy of the legal notice regarding the proposed amendments to 7 Del. Admin. C. §2101 Regulations for State Energy Conservation Code as posted on DNREC’s public notices website starting on November 10, 2019.

Exhibit 12 — Copy of a November 6, 2019 email from Jessica Quinn, DNREC DCCE sent bcc to individuals on the State Energy Conservation Code regulations Interested Parties List and the Delaware Energy Code Coalition members, which included information from the legal notice on the public hearing and procedures for submitting public comments on this matter.

Exhibit 13 — Affidavit of Publication, Delaware State News, dated November 10, 2019 for the legal notice advertising the December 3, 2019 Public Hearing on the proposed amendments to the Regulations for State Energy Conservation Code.

Exhibit 14 — Affidavit of Publication, The News Journal, dated November 10, 2019 for the legal notice advertising the December 3, 2019 Public Hearing on the proposed amendments to the Regulations for State Energy Conservation Code.

Exhibit 15 — Copy of the Register Notice, proposed strikethrough language, and Regulatory Flexibility Analysis and Impact Statement Form as it appeared in the November 1, 2019 Delaware Register of Regulations, Vol. 23, Issue 5, pp 363-366.

Exhibit 16 — Comments on proposed regulation as published in the November 1, 2019 Delaware Register of Regulations, received through December 3, 2019.

• Josh Young
• Aaron Gunzer
• Carmen Marinelli
• Delaware Community of Green Building United Steering Committee
• John Mateyko
• Darren Port
• Reid Rowlands

Exhibit 17 — The Department Powerpoint presentation for the December 3, 2019 public hearing on Regulations for State Energy Conservation Code.

Public Comments

Public Hearing Comments

• Eric Lacey
• Sara C. Yerkes

Public comments received from 12/3/2019 (after the hearing) through 12/18/2019

• Bahareh van Boekhold
• Joseph G. Charma, PE
• Patrick Coleman
• Haleh Davoudi
• Karen Forrest
• Mark Gandy
• Setareh Gilanpour
• Amir Reza Sedigh Haghighat
• Fatemeh Sedigh Haghighat
• Gholamreza Sedigh Haghighat
• Justin Koscher
• Azra Pirestani