This document is the second in a three-part series developed through the Pathway to Zero project to provide state and local jurisdictions with practical pathways for strengthening their residential building energy codes to increase energy savings, reduce water use and air pollution, and improve occupant comfort, health, and resilience.
The Advanced Code Overlay represents step two on the pathway to zero energy and carbon. It provides an amendment pathway for jurisdictions to update the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code to achieve advanced levels of energy efficiency using commercially available technologies and construction practices, while stopping short of requiring on-site renewable energy. The overlay draws on leading state energy codes, advanced new home programs, and key elements of the Passive House standard to establish a framework for high-performance residential construction. Homes built to these criteria deliver excellent energy savings, comfort, health, and durability.
Compared to the International Energy Conservation Code, this code overlay strengthens requirements for building envelope, air sealing, and equipment efficiency while introducing new provisions to reduce thermal bridging, improve water efficiency, quality control, and indoor air quality protection, and prepare new homes for future installation of solar panels and electric vehicle chargers. The overlay is structured to prioritize heat pumps for space conditioning and water heating while allowing alternative compliance pathways. It also expands the performance path to include an option to demonstrate compliance using a combined ERI and carbon emissions (CO2e) index.
For questions about this code overlay, please contact Skye Gruen.
