The DOE Building Energy Codes Program is offering a regular webinar series, BECP Energy Code Webinar Series, with an event held the third Thursday of every month at 1 pm (Eastern), beginning September 21, 2023.
Continuing Education
Continuing education credits (AIA and ICC) will be offered for most of the live events. Instructions for requesting certificates of completion will be provided during each webinar.
Series Lineup
View the series lineup below and register in advance.
September
How Building Codes Facilitate Resilient Communities
Date/Time: Thursday, September 21, 2023 @ 1:00-2:30pm ET (12 CT /11 MT /10 PT)
Speakers: Ellen Franconi, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Krystal Laymon and John Ingargiola, Federal Emergency Management Agency; and Brian Levite, ICF
Description: With the growing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, understanding the resilience benefits of building codes is more important than ever. By improving the energy efficiency of buildings, energy codes help enhance occupant safety comfort and reduce energy costs, use, and emissions. In addition, they contribute to individual and community resilience by improving grid reliability, and in the event of a power outage, enhancing passive survivability in buildings, thereby keeping occupants safer for longer. In this webinar, presenters will explore research findings from a recent DOE report and federal, state, and local activities related to the resilience benefits of building codes and energy efficiency.
October
Strategies to Equitably Expand the Energy Codes Workforce
Date/Time: Thursday, October 19, 2023 @ 1:00-2:30pm ET (12 CT /11 MT /10 PT)
Speakers: Maggie Kelley Riggins, Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance; Monica Guevara, Emerald Cities Collaborative; Andy Winslow, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships
Description: Hear from workforce development professionals on techniques to grow and expand the energy codes workforce in a way that prioritizes equity. This webinar will examine the specific issues facing the codes workforce and highlight programs and partnerships seeking to address them. Speakers will introduce regional challenges to growing a diverse workforce and discuss innovative outreach and training efforts for contractors, HVAC professionals, whole-home retrofit experts, and more.
November
What You Need to Know About the New Energy Standard for Commercial Buildings: ASHRAE 90.1-2022
Date/Time: Thursday, November 16, 2023 @ 1:00-3:00pm ET (12 CT /11 MT /10 PT)
Speakers: Don Brundage, Southern Company - Member of SSPC 90.1, Chair of SSPC 90.1 during the 2022 development cycle;
Len Sciarra, Farr Associates - Vice Chair of SSPC 90.1, Chair of the Lighting Subcommittee during the 2022 development cycle; Michael Myer, PNNL - Consultant to SSPC 90.1 Lighting Subcommittee; Richard Lord, Carrier Corporation - Chair of SSPC 90.1, Vice Chair of SSPC 90.1 during the 2022 development cycle; Michael Tillou, PNNL - Chair of the Energy Credits Working Group, Consultant to SSPC 90.1 Envelope and Energy Cost Budget Subcommittees; Michael Rosenberg, PNNL - Member of SSPC 90.1 and the Energy Cost Budget Subcommittee
Description: Discover what's new in ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2022. Speakers on the 90.1 Standing Standards Project Committee and various subcommittees will highlight major changes in ASHRAE requirements. Specific topics will include building envelope, power, lighting, and renewables, energy cost budget method, mechanical equipment, total system power ratio, and additional efficiency requirements (energy credits).
January
Best Practices for Understanding and Improving Compliance: Field Studies, Circuit Riders, and More
Date/Time: Thursday, January 18, 2024 @ 1:00-2:30pm ET (12 CT /11 MT /10 PT)
Speakers: Shaunna Mozingo, Mozingo Code Group; Chris Burgess, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA); Jackie Dadakis - Green Coast Enterprises; Adam Berry - Colorado Energy Office. Moderator: Ed Carley, National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO)
Description: Learn about current energy code compliance best practices and case studies. Presenters from across the country will draw on experience from the field to introduce and explain how to successfully implement field studies, circuit riders, and other compliance strategies.
February
Addressing Existing Buildings: Building Performance Standards and Implementation Support Tools
Date/Time: Thursday, February 15, 2024 @ 1:00-2:30pm ET (12 CT /11 MT /10 PT)
Speakers: Billierae Engelman, US Department of Energy; Harry Bergmann, US Department of Energy; Sydney Applegate, ORISE Fellow/US Department of Energy; Joshua Kace, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; Isabel Langlois-Romero, National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Molly Curtz, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Description: There is a great opportunity to make an impact by addressing the energy use and performance of existing buildings. In this webinar, speakers will discuss the use of Building Performance Standards (BPS) and outline best practices, tools, and financial incentives that can be leveraged to support BPS implementation.
March
Energy Code Enforcement Challenges and Opportunities in Rural Communities
Date/Time: Thursday, March 21, 2024 @ 1:00-2:30pm ET (12 CT /11 MT /10 PT)
Speakers: Hope Medina, Shums Coda Associates; Jeni Larsen and Bobbi Kaufman, Clearwater County, Idaho; Daniel Kaufman, Industrial Economics (IEc). Moderator: Tess Studley, Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA)
Description: With fewer building department staff, longer distances to travel between job sites, and less opportunity for workforce education and training, energy code enforcement can present unique challenges in rural communities. This webinar will highlight some of these specific challenges faced by code officials and others in the field and describe existing solutions and new opportunities to help improve code enforcement and compliance.
April
The Intersection of Energy Codes and Electrical Codes on the Road to Decarbonization
Date/Time: Thursday, April 18, 2024 @ 1:00-2:30pm ET (12 CT /11 MT /10 PT)
Speakers: Brennan Less, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab; Amie Lewis, New Buildings Institute. Moderator: Chris Perry, U.S. Department of Energy
Description: As the U.S. building stock electrifies and decarbonizes in the coming decades, an unprecedented amount of new electrical load will be added to the grid. How easy or difficult this transition will be depends, in part, on both building energy codes like the IECC and ASHRAE 90.1 and the electrical codes like the National Electric Code (NEC). This session will address NEC requirements around solar PV, home batteries, Energy Management systems, as well as exploring implications for electric panel sizing. Speakers from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) and New Buildings Institute (NBI) will summarize the barriers identified in the electrical code and proposed changes, present on guidelines for complying with the NEC, and discuss various ways that the electrical and energy code intersect.
MAY-JUNE
The BECP webinar series will take a break during May and June and return in July with more great topics - stay tuned to this page for details!