Update on Multifamily Construction and the New 2001 WSEC

The 2001 Washington State Energy Code (WSEC) has made code requirements for Multifamily building significantly stricter.  Multifamily buildings are currently ineligible for the unlimited glazing prescriptive path, and the new calculated path will be difficult to comply with without minimizing glazing. 

The implications of the new code changes were challenging to many hi-rise multifamily developers, and they rallied a lobby to clarify the code changes, arguing that it is unfair to expect high-rise multifamily buildings to meet the same envelope energy requirements as low rise residential buildings since the construction is very different in these two classes.  As a result, the State Building Code Council (SBCC) enacted a temporary exemption from the new code requirements for high-rise residential buildings. This exemption is set to run until October 2002. For the time being,  hi-rise residential buildings (six or more stories) will be regulated under the 2000 WSEC.

It is unclear what decisions will be made in the future regarding high-rise residential buildings and the new energy code. It now seems unlikely that the temporary exemption will become permanent. However, some change in the 2001 WSEC can be anticipated in the near future. Ecotope has a representative on the Energy Code Technical Advisory Group to the SBCC;  any new information on this issue will be posted here as it becomes available.