Franklin County Cooperative Inspection Program

 

7th Edition Energy Requirements

The 7th Edition Energy requirements for 1-2 family dwellings new construction(Chapter 61) and existing buildings(Chapter 93) have been ammended in its entirety. The State of Massachusetts has adopted the 2006 International Energy Code

Highlights

401.3 Certificate. A permanent certificate shall be posted on or in the electrical distribution panel. The certificate shall not cover or obstruct the visibility of the circuit directory label, service disconnect label or other required labels. The certificate shall be completed by the builder or registered design professional. The certificate shall list the predominate R-values of insulation installed in the ceiling/roof, walls, foundation (slab, basement wall, crawlspace wall and/or floor) and ducts outside conditioned spaces; U-factors for fenestration; and the solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) of fenestration. Where there is more than one value for each component, the certificate shall list the value covering the largest area. The certificate shall list the type and efficiency of heating, cooling and service water heating equipment. Where a gas-fired unvented room heater, electric furnace, and/or  baseboard electric heater is installed in the residence, the certificate shall list “gas-fired unvented room heater”, “electric furnace”, or “baseboard electric heater” as appropriate. An efficiency shall not be listed for gas-fired unvented room heaters, electric furnaces, or electric base board heaters.

 

402.1 General. (Prescriptive)

              402.1.1 Insulation and fenestration criteria. The building thermal envelope shall meet the requirements of Table 402.1.1.

 

TABLE 402..1.1

INSULATION AND FENESTRATION REQUIREMENTS BY COMPONENT

CLIMATE ZONE

5 (Massachusetts)

FENESTRATION U-FACTOR

0.35

SKYLIGHT U-FACTOR

0.60

GLAZED FENESTRATION SHGC

NR

CEILING R-VALUE

38

WOOD FRAME WALL R-VALUE

19 OR 13+5(cavity+ridged)

MASS WALL R-VALUE

13/17

FLOOR R-VALUE

30

BASEMENT WALL R-VALUE

10/13 (continuous/ or cavity)

SLAB R-VALUE & DEPTH

10, 2ft

CRAWL SPACE WALL R-VALUE

10/13 continuous/ or cavity)

 

 

402.2.3 Access hatches and doors. Access doors from conditioned spaces to unconditioned spaces (e.g., attics and crawl spaces) shall be weatherstripped and insulated to a level equivalent to the insulation on the surrounding surfaces. Access shall be provided to all equipment which prevents damaging or compressing the insulation.

 

402.2.5 Floors. Floor insulation shall be installed to maintain permanent contact with the underside of the subfloor.

 

402.2.8 Crawl space walls. As an alternative to insulating floors over crawl spaces, crawl space walls shall be permitted to be insulated when the crawl space is not vented to the outside. Crawl space wall insulation shall be permanently fastened to the wall and extend downward from the floor to the finished grade level and then vertically and/or horizontally for at least an additional 24 inches. Exposed earth in unvented crawl space foundations shall be covered with a continuous Class I vapor retarder. All joints of the vapor retarder shall overlap by 6 inches and be sealed or taped. The edges of the vapor retarder shall extend at least 6 inches up the stem wall and shall be attached to the stem wall.

 

402.2.10 Thermally isolated sunroom insulation. The minimum ceiling insulation R-values shall be R-24. The minimum wall R-value shall be R-13 in all zones. New walls separating a sunroom from conditioned space shall meet the building thermal envelope requirements.

 

402.3.6 Replacement fenestration. Where some or all of an existing fenestration unit is replaced with a new fenestration product, including sash and glazing, the replacement fenestration unit shall meet the applicable requirements for U-factor in Table 402.1.1.

(U=0.35)

 

402.4 Air Leakage. (Mandatory).

402.4.1 Building thermal envelope. The building thermal envelope shall be durably sealed to limit infiltration. The sealing methods between dissimilar materials shall allow for differential expansion and contraction. The following shall be caulked, gasketed, weatherstripped or otherwise sealed with an air barrier material, suitable film or solid material:

1. All joints, seams and penetrations.

2. Site-built windows, doors and skylights.

3. Openings between window and door assemblies and their respective jambs and            framing.

4. Utility penetrations.

5. Dropped ceilings or chases adjacent to the thermal envelope.

6. Knee walls.

7. Walls and ceilings separating a garage from conditioned spaces.

8. Behind tubs and showers on exterior walls.

9. Common walls between dwelling units.

10. Attic access openings.

11. Other sources of infiltration.

 

402.4.2 Fenestration air leakage. Windows, skylights and sliding glass doors shall have an air infiltration rate of no more than 0.3 cfm per square foot, and swinging doors no more than 0.5 cfm per square foot when tested according to NFRC 400 or AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440 by an accredited, independent laboratory and listed and labeled by the manufacturer.

 

402.4.3 Recessed lighting. Recessed luminaries installed in the building thermal envelope shall be sealed to limit air leakage between conditioned and unconditioned spaces. All recessed luminaries shall be IC-rated and labeled as meeting ASTM E 283 when tested at 1.57 psi pressure differential with no more than 2.0 cfm of air movement from the conditioned space to the ceiling cavity. All recessed luminaries shall be sealed with a gasket or calk between the housing and the interior wall or ceiling.

 

402.5 Vapor retarders. Class I or II vapor retarders are required on the interior side of frame walls.

Class I:   0.1 perm or less             

Sheet polyethylene, non-perforated   aluminum foil                        

Class II:              0.1 < perm ≤ 1.0 perm

Kraft faced batts or low perm paints      

              Class III:            1.0 < perm ≤ 10.0

                            Latex or enamel paint

       Exceptions:

 

402.5.1 Class III vapor retarders. Class III vapor retarders shall be permitted where any of the following conditions in table 402.5.1 are met.

TABLE 402.5.1

CLASS III  VAPOR RETARDERS

 

Zone

Class III vapor retarders permitted for:

5 (MA)

Vented cladding over OSB, plywood.

Insulated sheathing with R-value ≥ R5 over 2x4 wall.

Insulated sheathing with R-value ≥ R7.5 over 2x6 wall.

 

403.2.1 Duct Insulation. Supply ducts in attics shall be insulated to a minimum of R-8. All other supply and return ducts located in an unconditioned space (basements) shall be insulated to a minimum of R-6.

 

404.6 Calculation software tools. The current compliance software is ResCheck 4.2.0, using the 2006 IECC Code evaluation standards. The software is available for download at energycodes.gov. After the program is loaded you will need to click on the Code tab, at the top of the page, and select 2006 IECC to set the analysis parameters.

 

 

This page was last updated on 11/06/2008 .

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