Effective 12-15-2023
- County-wide cap on home size; 9250 square feet.
- Some special areas have a smaller cap at 8250 or 5750 sf.
https://pitkincounty.com/1566/Pitkin-County-Code-Updates
Effective 3-13-2024
- 2021 IECC
- Title 11.32 adopts an exterior energy budget of 200 Million Btu’s, 6000 sf snowmelt cap
- Title 11.34 adopts electric ready provisions; homes must be EV ready and must use electric for heating, cooling and water heating, or provide the electrical infrastructure to convert to electric in the future.
https://pitkincounty.com/DocumentCenter/View/32664/2024-Energy-Code
New residential structures of any size:
For permit submittals… Prescriptive, Total UA and the Performance Paths have been deleted. Projects must use the HERS compliance path. Projects must show a HERS of 60 before photovoltaic solar energy is applied, and HERS 30 afterwards.
Additions, remodels, and heated accessory structures:
For remodels and additions exceeding 1000 sf a baseline blower door test must be submitted. This is needed to show that the new construction demonstrates 15% reduction in air leakage. Less than 1000 sf are exempt from infiltration testing requirements.
Option 1: Prescriptive, demonstrate compliance with Articles 401-404 and the Pitkin County Amended Tables 402.1.2 and 402.1.3 in the Pitkin County Amended 2021 IECC. (this includes modified U-factors of .28 for exterior glazing and .40 for skylights, gas fired furnaces shall meet a minimum 95% AFUE. AC equipment will meet a minimum SEER rating of 16, etc.
Option 2: Alternative compliance if approved by the Chief Building Official. This would most likely include a HERS rating of 53 from table R406.5 in the 2021 IECC, or an above-code program certification like; ENERGY STAR or LEED for Homes.
https://pitkincounty.com/DocumentCenter/View/32664/2024-Energy-Code
Commercial buildings:
Building thermal envelope -2021 IECC prescriptive table or pass a 2021 ComCheck thermal envelope compliance report.
Lighting -Pass a 2021 ComCheck Interior and exterior lighting compliance report.
Mechanical -Pass a 2021 ComCheck mechanical compliance report.
REMP, CREMP & GREMP
Renewable Energy Mitigation Program (REMP) payment option is voluntary. Applicants interested in exterior energy use systems can alternatively choose to produce on-site renewable energy (Section 301) with solar photovoltaics and/or solar hot water, ground-source heat pumps or micro-hydro. Download Pitkin County REMP Calculation Sheet
Confluence Architecture & Sustainability can help with REMP calculations and provide all the documentation, modeling, testing and certification required to navigate the code.