I’m inspired by Vancouver’s climate action plan, especially the target to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2030.
I’ve worked on energy efficiency programs in Washington and Oregon for the last 12 years. According to the EPA, buildings contributed 13 percent of U.S. GHG emissions in 2020, primarily from burning fossil fuels for heating and cooling. Improved building codes offer tremendous potential to reduce these emissions.
The Washington State Building Code Council has proposed energy codes for new-home construction that will significantly reduce emissions by requiring higher-efficiency heat pumps for heating and air conditioning. The proposed codes also require heat pumps for water heating. Heat pumps run on electricity, an increasingly clean source of energy, and will help shift new construction away from gas.
Many homebuilders oppose the new codes because they’d prefer to install lower-cost, less-efficient HVAC systems, most of which run on methane gas. HVAC systems will typically last at least 10 to 20 years, well beyond the 2030 emissions targets.
The SBCC is accepting public comment on the new energy codes until Oct. 14. I urge your support by signing this petition: https://climatesolutions.salsalabs.org/sbccresidential2022jr/index.html.
