Air Leakage and what it can mean to you

Internets, this is not my article. I copied it out of some of the Master Builders flotsam that bobs along the little information creek flowing through my office. It's about the energy code. It's about air leakage, which we all know is not a good thing, especially after tacos and broccoli. No, this is more about making your house tighter than a dentist with 2 dollars to spend. This is about (I guess) affordability of housing? No, it's about bureaucrats, more and more of them. More and more.......

Last Friday, the Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) adopted the 2009 amendments to the Washington State Energy Code (WSEC). It did not go well for the construction industry; however, our association's involvement in the debate did help reduce the cost of these changes from what was originally proposed.

Everyone agrees the economy is struggling right now, and everyone also agrees that long-term energy efficiency is a good thing for Washington and the world. The crux of Friday's discussion focused on the question, despite the stressed economy, should bold new energy requirements be approved that have a costly price tag to the consumer in the near term, but recover the cost long term?

The SBCC's vote will increase the cost of housing by $5,000 to $10,000 per single-family home, beginning on July 1, 2010. The original figure of more than $10,000 per home was reduced as a result of our association's efforts to expose the damaging effect such changes would have on the industry.

Some of the changes that passed include:

• Air leakage testing will be mandatory for all new homes beginning next July.
• All buildings will need an energy meter beginning next summer.
• When replacing lighting, 20 percent must be high efficiency.
• The value of Energy Star is lost.

Neither our association, nor the larger construction industry opposes energy efficiency, but the timing could not be worse as the economy continues to struggle. One council member actually suggested it was the perfect time to implement the changes because nobody is building.

With these changes, Washington State will continue as one of the greenest, if not the greenest, states in the union. It's too bad such a title comes on the back of the new homebuyer rather than retrofitting current construction, which would save infinitely more energy.