Building Decarbonization Code

Written by New Buildings Institute

Summary:
BUILDING DECARBONIZATION CODE
The Building Decarbonization Code is a groundbreaking tool aiming to deliver carbon-neutral performance. The Version 1.2 code language from NBI serves as a building decarbonization overlay to the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and is now compatible with ASHRAE 90.1. It is designed to help states and cities working to mitigate carbon resulting from energy use in the built environment, which accounts for 39% of U.S. emissions. It also offers market insight into rules that will determine how new buildings are designed and constructed in the future in order to curb the worst impacts of climate change.

The overlay is focused on codes for new construction with the potential of adding code language for existing buildings in a future version. While not an all-electric code, the language does prioritize efficient electric equipment and is designed to be flexible. Sections cover All-Electric and Mixed-Fuel options for residential and commercial construction. We have provided a comprehensive PDF document here, Word documents of the code provisions are available upon email request to sarah@newbuildings.org.