“Washington is now the first state in the country to mandate energy-efficient (and possibly fossil fuel-free) electric heat pumps, over traditional furnaces and water heaters. The rules apply in new commercial and multifamily residential buildings with four or more stories.
On Friday, the Washington State Building Code Council voted 11-3 in favor of a new statewide update to the commercial building energy code. The legislation summary spans more than 330 pages and includes lots of different provisions, including new requirements that air and water heating and cooling systems use electric “heat-pumps” (sort of a misnomer, because the pumps both heat and cool) in most new buildings.
“We passed one of the most energy-efficient building codes in the U.S. last Friday,” wrote Kjell Anderson, a member of the Building Code Council and a sustainable design architect in Seattle, in an email to Gizmodo. The code is a win for building decarbonization and could help Washington meet its state goal of reducing building energy consumption to 70% of 2006 levels by 2031. The change goes into effect July 2023.”
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Recent studies show households using fossil fuels for heating make a large chunk of the overall carbon emissions across the globe. Switching over to heat pumps would cut those emissions considerably. However, how much also depends on the energy source as the electricity generated still likely comes from the burning of fossil fuels.
The team at Temperature Control Specialities offers heat pumps from industry-leader Trane. Call us at (317) 247-7663 to schedule an installation or learn more about this technology.