Intl. Code Council appoints committees to lead energy code development

The International Code Council recently revealed who will make up the committees for the development of its 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).

One-third of the appointees are government regulators. This is notable because the Council drew fire earlier this year for revamping the code development process. Critics charged that the new process would be less open and reduce the influence of regulators, thereby weakening energy efficiency standards.

“The committee appointees represent a wide array of experience in building types and energy efficiency strategies, as well as racial, gender and socio-economic diversity, composing balanced committees that represent a multitude of stakeholder interests,” according to a Council news release.

Among the appointments were:

· Duane Jonlin, Energy Code & Conservation Advisor, Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, who will be the Chair of the Commercial Energy Code Consensus Committee.

· Emily Hoffman, Director of Energy Code Compliance, New York City Department of Buildings, who will take over as Vice Chair of the Commercial Energy Code Consensus Committee.

· J.C. Hudgison, Chief Building Official, Tampa, Fla., who will be Chair of the Residential Energy Code Consensus Committee.

· Bridget Herring, Energy Program Coordinator, Asheville, N.C., who assumes the role of Vice Chair of the Residential Energy Code Consensus Committee.

· Robin Yochum, Energy Program Manager, Nevada Governor’s Energy Office, who was appointed Vice Chair of the Residential Energy Code Consensus Committee.

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.