Rhode Island State Snapshot

RHODE ISLAND CURRENT CODE

Residential: 2006 IECC (Mandatory) Commercial: 2006 IECC (Mandatory) DEMOGRAPHICS Population: 1,050,788 Total Housing Units: 443,761 ENERGY CONSUMPTION Residential Sector: 70.2 Trillion BTU Commercial Sector: 55.1 Trillion BTU 46% of the electricity supply in Rhode Island is consumed to heat residential homes. Residential use of natural gas costs $16.82/thousand cubic ft.

Rhode Island will receive $23.9 Million from the federal government if the state adopts the latest energy codes:  IECC 2009 (International Energy Conservation Code)  ASHRAE 90.1 2007 (American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers) Accumulated residential sector savings, 2009 to 2020, would be:  4 billion Btu of energy  28 thousand metric tons of CO2 (Equivalent to the annual emissions of 5,128 passenger vehicles)  $5 million  $5 million could pay more than the full undergraduate tuition for current students at private universities in Rhode Island FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES: In February 2009 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated $3.1 billion for U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program (SEP) to assist states with building energy efficiency efforts. As one of the requirements to receive SEP grants, state governors must certify to DOE that their state will implement energy codes of equal or greater stringency than the latest national model codes (currently IECC 2009 and Standard 90.1-2007). Thus, it is in the state’s best economic interests to adopt these standards statewide and begin enjoying the benefits of an efficient building sector. CODE ADOPTION AND CHANGE PROCESS:

Natural gas fuels almost all Regulatory Process: The State Building Codes Standards Committee (SBCSC) is of Rhode Island’s electricity responsible for adopting and amending the state building code, including the engeneration. ergy code. CODE CHANGE CYCLE For more information please consult the Building Codes Assistance Project (www.bcap-energy.org) or Nick Zigelbaum ([email protected]) Three year code review

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