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KITTITAS COUNTY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES <br />411 N. Ruby St., Suite 2, Ellensburg, WA 98926 <br />CDS@CO.KrrrrrAs.wA.us <br />Office (509) 962-7506 <br />"Building Partnerships — Building Communities" Fax (509) 962-7682 <br />cirnTA_s entl%T" <br />Memorandum <br />March 9, 2020 <br />To: Board of County Commissioners <br />From: Mike Flory, Building Official <br />Dan Carlson, AICP, Community Development Services Director <br />RE: 2018 Washington State Residential Energy Code <br />On July 1, 2020, the 2018 International Building Codes with Washington State amendments go into <br />effect throughout the State, including Kittitas County. One set of codes that affect builders and <br />homeowners alike is the Washington State Residential Energy Code. <br />Folks involved in the residential building industry are familiar with the required energy credits that must <br />be provided for every new structure. Energy credits are a points system assigned by the State to high <br />efficiency furnaces, water heaters, windows, air leakage reduction and renewable energy products such <br />as solar panels. A point or portion of a point is assigned to different high efficiency products. Every <br />residential structure must have a minimum of energy credit points based on the size of the structure. <br />Applicants must choose from a list of options created by the State to obtain these credits. <br />Previous code editions have left the energy credit requirements unchanged. Per the current <br />Washington State Residential Energy Code, a dwelling unit between 1,500 square feet and 5,000 <br />square feet requires 3.5 credits. For example, this could be achieved by a combination of energy <br />efficiency options such as an on -demand gas high efficiency water heater (1.5 credits), low flow fixtures <br />and faucets (.5 credit), high efficiency windows (.5 credit) and a high efficiency heat pump or ductless <br />split system (1 credit) totaling 3.5 credits. There are several more options available for energy credits, <br />but these are the simplest to achieve. <br />Effective July 1, 2020, the minimum required energy credits for the same structure will increase to 6. <br />While the State has created additional items and construction methods to obtain energy credits, <br />applicants will still have to obtain 2.5 more credits. Additional credits can be in the form of purchasing <br />super high efficiency windows and adding exterior foam insulation between the plywood and the siding <br />plus added floor insulation (1.5 more credits), reducing the air leakage in a new home from five air <br />exchanges per hour to two (1 credit), or providing a 1,200 kilowatt-hour solar panel system (1 credit), <br />just to name a few. <br />Kittitas County Community Development Services will be hosting an energy code update class and <br />workshop on May 11, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. at the Kittitas County Event Center Armory Hall. Washington <br />State University Energy Code Program specialists will be at the class to offer education and <br />suggestions for meeting the updated code. The event is free and open to anyone interested in learning <br />about the new energy code. <br />COMMUNITY PLANNING • BUILDING INSPECTION • PLAN REvtEw • ADMINISTRATION • PERMIT SERVICES • CODE ENFORCEMENT <br />