West Virginia State Snapshot

WEST VIRGINIA CURRENT CODE

Residential: 2003 IECC (Voluntary) Commercial: 2003 IECC (Voluntary) DEMOGRAPHICS Population: 1,814,468 Total Housing Units: 852,165 ENERGY CONSUMPTION Residential Sector: 157.6 Trillion BTU Commercial Sector: 109.1 Trillion BTU

West Virginia will receive $32.7 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 for 2009 to 2030 would be:  2.2 trillion Btu of energy  153 million metric tons of CO2 (Equivalent to annual greenhouse gas emissions from 28,022 passenger vehicles)  $15 million  $15 million could pay more than the full undergraduate tuition for current students at private universities in West Virginia FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES:

48% of West Virginia’s natural gas and 32% of the electricity supply is consumed for heating homes.

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 West Virginia is the top coal stringency than the latest national model codes (currently IECC 2009 and producing state east of the Mississippi River and second 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 effiin the nation (after Wyocient building sector. ming). CODE ADOPTION AND CHANGE PROCESS:

Residential use of natural gas costs $16.25/thousand cubic ft, well over the national average of 11.59/thousand cubic ft. Residential use of electricity costs $7.97/kWh. CODE CHANGE CYCLE No set schedule

Legislative and Regulatory process: The West Virginia State Fire Commission is responsible for adopting, promulgating, and amending statewide construction codes. The Administrative Procedures Act requires public hearings on the adoption of all codes by the State Fire Commission. For more information please consult the Building Codes Assistance Project (www.bcap-energy.org) or Nick Zigelbaum ([email protected])

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