Boulder County | Net Zero Codes Cohort
Lotus provided project management and facilitation for the Boulder County Net Zero Codes Cohort, later renamed to the Northwest Metropolitan Regional Energy Code Cohort. The project included two phases: the first reviewed and adopted the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) with regional consistent strengthening amendments, and the second created a regional roadmap for reaching 100% net zero new construction by 2030.
Phase 1
For Phase 1 of the project, Lotus facilitated a series of five meetings with eight community partners in the Northwest Metropolitan region of Denver to co-create consistent energy code amendments that could be adopted alongside the 2021 IECC to support local and regional climate goals. Equity, GHG reductions, and the needs of individual communities were discussed within the cohort while the group reached a consensus for the recommended code package. Phase 1 included code package development along with individualized community support to help each partner community with their code adoption process. Lotus worked with consultant partners Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) and Shums Coda throughout the project to develop the code package for the region along with supporting materials such as fact sheets, customized presentations, training materials, and other individualized support requested by each community. Lotus and the consultant team attended council meetings and study sessions with staff to ensure the code package was understood and could be adopted by each leadership council. The results of Phase 1 code adoptions for the region can be seen in the table to the left (as of February 2023).
Phase 2
Phase 2 of the project began the summer of 2022 with a goal of creating a roadmap of ranked local, achievable, affordable, and equitable policies and strategies to reach the goal of net zero new construction by 2030 for the region. For Phase 2, Lotus facilitated a series of eight meetings with ten communities to co-create a regional definition of “net zero new construction,” as well as a roadmap with a stepped approach to achieving net zero new construction by 2030. Equity and regional collaboration were strong themes throughout the discussions and the roadmap. The roadmap was written and designed by Lotus, with support from SWEEP and Shums Coda, and lays a foundation for continued regional coordination on future building code updates for each community involved.
The Boulder County Net Zero Code Cohort was funded by a Department of Local Affairs grant and created a framework in the state for regional collaboration on building codes which has been deployed in other areas of Colorado to support local communities with building code adoption.
City of Louisville | Commercial Energy Code Review
The City of Louisville contracted with Lotus and Group14 Engineering to explore updates to the City’s current commercial energy code that would help the City reach its energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction goals. The City and consultant team examined commercial energy code policy options including higher efficiency requirements, all-electric requirements, and net zero requirements. The scope of work included:
Energy modeling of current code-compliant heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in commercial and industrial building types to evaluate upfront cost, operational cost, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The energy modeling also included an analysis of the total solar PV required to make code-compliant buildings (both mixed-fuel and all-electric) net zero. Finally, energy modeling was conducted to analyze the upfront cost, operational cost, and GHG emissions savings of buildings built to a higher efficiency performance standard.
Research on existing commercial energy code policies from around the country.
A public engagement process that solicited feedback on commercial code policy options via two City board meetings, two open-house style community meetings, and an online public engagement survey.
Final report summarizing the policy recommendations from the consultant team and staff for the City of Louisville’s commercial code update.
Lotus facilitated the public engagement process, developed the final policy recommendation report, and presented the final policy recommendation to City Council for adoption. We are well-versed in the analysis of various commercial code options that will allow a community to move easily to a net zero code standard.
City of Golden | Codes Consulting: Building Policy Roadmap
Lotus developed the City of Golden’s Code Roadmap after the completion of the City of Golden Code Consulting Project as a joint effort with Iconergy Ltd. The roadmap lays out the recommendations and timelines to address greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency in the City of Golden’s built environment, with the ultimate goal of helping to achieve the City’s 2030 Sustainability Goals. The recommendations for new and existing buildings were informed by a series of stakeholder workshops which included industry experts, sector representatives, and consultants that evaluated a total of six code packages from January to July 2022. Lotus was the primary facilitator for each stakeholder workshop and worked with the group to review code standards the City could consider to meet its building goals.
The final recommendation for building code and existing building policy, derived from the stakeholder process, included the following high-level directives.
For new buildings, adopt the 2021 IECC and the New Buildings Institute (NBI): All-Electric Code Overlay with a requirement for onsite PV for new residential construction.
For existing buildings, develop a building benchmarking program and subsequent performance standard for existing buildings and address code and incentive gaps for existing buildings with expanded programming and incentive opportunities.
The Lotus team facilitated the stakeholder workshops and provided technical assistance in analyzing code packages, GHG emissions, and strategic planning to meet Golden’s GHG reduction goals.
City of Longmont | Electrification Study and Communication Plan
Lotus convened and guided an Electrification Feasibility Committee to explore advantages and constraints of electrification policies and program options for the City of Longmont. Lotus also created a communications strategy and the development of a thoughtful, equitable, and phased beneficial building electrification plan that was both ambitious and realistic. Strategy development was supported by modeling completed by Group14 Engineering. The final Beneficial Electrification Plan provides Longmont with a roadmap of specific strategies and actions that can be taken to spur investment in electrification throughout the community.
Colorado Energy Office | Building Performance Standard Task Force Facilitation
Lotus facilitated monthly meetings with the State of Colorado Building Performance Standard (BPS) Task Force and ensured that the Task Force remained focused on the equitable impacts of the BPS on communities, building owners (especially for affordable housing), and Colorado’s workforce. Through the Task Force meetings, Lotus guided the task force through technical discussions and decisions and brought forward data to support decision-making. Lotus also completed an analysis of available benchmarking data to guide the Task Force conversations from a technical perspective, as well as designed a Public Engagement Plan and process that included a focus on gathering input from representatives across the State that can speak to the equity and workforce impacts of the BPS.
The Public Engagement Plan guided the outreach and engagement activities that were used to gather input from a broad network of stakeholders and interested parties from outside the Task Force. This included identifying the key audiences and ways to engage them, the community and business organizations that would be able to funnel input from their members, and developing a survey, public outreach materials, and designing and supporting the facilitation of three public engagement sessions.
The Task Force recommended that the State include a holistic approach to implementing the BPS that includes creating programs that would provide support and resources for the Colorado workforce, and to assess equity concerns for tenants, disproportionately impacted communities, and others who may be adversely impacted by the BPS requirements. Lotus then worked with the Colorado Energy Office to design an Equity Priority Building Approach. Lotus’s recommendations reflect the integration of an equity lens with BPS and ensure the ongoing clean energy transition is accessible to all. This means considering the community, the building itself, and the building’s occupants, as well as how to reduce the burden imposed by the State BPS program and the risk of displacement or gentrification. Important in this equity approach is giving building owners a voice in the process by allowing a building to self-identify as an EPB.
Colorado Energy Office | Energy Code Board
Lotus contracted with the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) to facilitate the State’s Energy Code Board to create a Model Electric and Solar Ready code for the State of Colorado. A House Bill passed in the State’s legislature in 2022 requiring the Energy Office to convene an Energy Code Board with diverse representatives from across the state to develop a model code to be the new state minimum code in conjunction with the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code.
Lotus managed the code development process and facilitated the Energy Code Board (board), and an executive committee through a series of 18 meetings to discuss, deliberate, and finalize each code element within the State’s model code. Lotus conducted research on existing electric-ready, solar-ready, and EV-ready codes in the State, drafted the code elements for board review, facilitated an ongoing public engagement process that culminated in a live public comment session, and wrote the final Model code for the State based on the outputs of the facilitated process. Cost-effectiveness was a critical component of the readiness code discussions and Lotus pulled and summarized reports for the board to advance their understanding of the upfront and retrofit costs for electrification, EV charging, and solar installations. Finally, Lotus executed a voting process for all board members that was efficient and transparent to the public and produced the final code package for the State.
Lotus wrote the State’s Model Electric and Solar Ready Code, which is an immediately adoptable code standard for Colorado communities. In addition, Lotus developed an explanatory code package to help guide communities through the review and adoption of the code, and a final code report to provide an overview of the process and key elements of the Model code. Throughout the process, Lotus maintained strict adherence to the Colorado Open Records Act as well as, timeline and procedural requirements mandated by the House Bill.
“I truly can’t find the words to express how much I appreciate the work you all have put into this project over the past several months. I know that there have been a number of late nights and weekends spent on this project (as well as just long days in general!) and I want you to know how much it meant to me, and CEO broadly, knowing I had all of you that I could trust to get everything done well and on time while I was trying to juggle what felt like a million other things. I can’t tell you how many compliments I received from Board members, other CEO and agency staff, and members of the public on the incredible job you guys did managing this wild process and keeping the Board on track to meet its goals and deadlines. Seriously, it was a lot. So I just wanted to say thank you again for everything, and I look forward to getting everything done in the coming couple of months! This code is a pretty monumental step forward for Colorado and will have a lasting impact that we can all be very proud of. ”
Eagle County | Code Cohort
Lotus provided project management and facilitation for the Eagle County Code Cohort. The project included the facilitation of three meetings with representatives from each Eagle County jurisdiction to create a set of above code standards—including solar-readiness, EV-readiness, and electric-readiness—that jurisdictions could adopt alongside the 2021 I-Codes, specifically the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Equity, GHG reductions, and the needs of individual communities were discussed during the cohort meetings and a consensus was reached for the recommended code package.
The cohort included code package development and individualized community support to help each partner community with its code adoption process. Lotus worked with consultant partners Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) and Mozingo Code Group throughout the project to develop the code package for the region. The consultant team developed supporting materials such as fact sheets, customized presentations, training materials, and other individualized support requested by each community. Lotus and the consultant team attended council meetings and study sessions with staff to ensure the code package was understood and could be adopted by each leadership council.
Finally, Lotus facilitated a public engagement process for the new code package which included an informational webinar and community survey to understand community concerns and support for the new code package.
Below is a presentation about this project from the Mountain Towns 2030 conference in 2023.
Eagle County | Building Code Energy Modeling & Upfront Cost Analysis
In 2022, Lotus supported Eagle County in analyzing new construction code packages with electrification amendments to provide energy use and cost data which will be used to inform the County code update process in 2023. Lotus analyzed four code package options as they compare to Eagle County’s current new construction energy code, the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The code packages were evaluated by
upfront cost impacts,
greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts over the lifetime of the building, and
operational energy cost impacts over the lifetime of the building.
The code packages investigated in this study included the 2021 IECC without amendments, the 2021 IECC with an electric-ready amendment, the 2021 IECC with an electric-preferred amendment, and the 2021 IECC with an all-electric amendment. These code options were analyzed for single-family homes, multi-family complexes, and commercial properties. The scope of work consisted of:
Upfront Cost Analysis: A literature review of existing studies analyzing the cost impacts of updating energy codes from prior code cycles, in this case, the 2015 and/or 2018 IECC, to the 2021 IECC. Additional studies were reviewed to understand the upfront cost impacts and cost-effectiveness of three additional above-building code standards, including electric-readiness, electric-preferred, and all-electric provisions.
Energy Modeling: Energy modeling for three building types typical of Eagle County construction: a single-family home, a multifamily building, and a mixed-use commercial building. Each building type was modeled to meet four code standards: the County’s current energy code (2015 IECC), the 2021 IECC, the 2021 IECC plus an electric-preferred standard, and the 2021 IECC with all-electric systems. The modeling was conducted to evaluate total annual energy consumption, total annual energy costs, and greenhouse gas emissions over the lifetime of the building (40-year period) to understand the emissions and cost implications of advancing to a new building code. The single-family and multifamily energy models were developed using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Building Energy Optimization Tool. The commercial building energy model was developed using the Department of Energy’s eQUEST tool.
The upfront cost analysis and the energy modeling will demonstrate which code options are the most cost effective and which will have the greatest contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the County. In addition, Eagle County will be participating in a code cohort with surrounding jurisdictions to review and adopt supporting amendments alongside the 2021 I-codes. This effort will help advise Eagle County on which supporting amendments will support the achievement of their climate action goals through their next phase of energy code adoption.