St. Louis recently passed a new law requiring all new buildings to be made solar-ready.
All new structures—commercial and residential—must reserve rooftop sections for solar panels to be easily installed. The ordinance does not mandate that rooftop solar be installed.
The solar-ready zone must be at least 40% of the roof area. It can be one contiguous area or multiple smaller sub-zone areas that are no less than five feet in width at their narrowest point. The solar-ready area cannot be obstructed by pipes, vents, HVAC equipment, or other shadow-casting elements.
Construction documents must outline pathways for routing of piping from the solar-ready zone to the building’s electrical service panel or service hot water system. The electrical panel must also have reserved space for a dual-pole circuit breaker to support future solar installations.
New buildings that have permanently-installed onsite generation systems already, buildings whose solar-ready zones would be shaded from sunlight for more than 70% of the day, and buildings where a licensed design professional has deemed that the solar radiation available to the building is not suitable to a solar-ready zone or because the area requirement cannot be met due to extensive rooftop obstructions, may be exempt.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Oct 26, 2017
Boston’s Old South Church asks tower developer for $19 million for casting shade
Request highlights ongoing conflict between developers and residents over right to sunshine.
Codes and Standards | Oct 24, 2017
Asphalt roofing design guide now available in digital form
Recently updated Modified Bitumen Design Guide can be viewed on smartphones and tablets.
Codes and Standards | Oct 23, 2017
Energy efficiency investments on the rise; will increase next year
Survey of facility management executives shows onsite renewables, energy storage will spike in 2018.
Codes and Standards | Oct 20, 2017
AIA contract document updates include new BIM, digital data provisions
Documents are structurally different from 2007, 2008 versions.
Codes and Standards | Oct 19, 2017
IAPMO seeks proposals for 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code, Uniform Mechanical Code
The deadline is March 16, 2018.
Codes and Standards | Oct 18, 2017
States impacted by hurricanes are improving their energy efficiency policies
Florida, Texas, rise in ACEEE state energy efficiency scorecard.
Codes and Standards | Oct 17, 2017
Updated versions of EnergyPlus and OpenStudio building energy modeling tools released
Open-source apps include enhancements for urban-scale modeling.
Codes and Standards | Oct 16, 2017
New, comprehensive insurance exhibit released in AIA 2017 contract document updates
Will allow AIA to make updates more frequently as insurance market changes.
Codes and Standards | Oct 12, 2017
New AIA contract document designates responsibilities for sustainable projects
Roles of architects, contractors outlined in E204–2017.
Codes and Standards | Oct 11, 2017
Data, transparency are keys to next steps in green building, says USGBC chief
Monitoring and comparing performance are critical to advancing sustainability goals.