Georgia Adopts 2015 IECC: Top 4 Electrical Changes
On January 1st, 2020, the State of Georgia will be adopting the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Georgia is currently under the 2009 IECC so we will be skipping the 2012 IECC altogether. In this blog we will focus on the changes that affect the electrical discipline going from 2009 IECC to the 2015 IECC. You can see all of the other code updates in our previous blog Georgia Building Code Changes.
In the State of Georgia, the designer has two options to follow compliance with the energy code, they can either pursue 2015 IECC or 2013 ASHRAE 90.1. In this blog we are only focusing on the changes for the IECC. We will look at the changes for 2013 ASHRAE Standard 90.1 in a future blog post.
1. Lighting Controls
Lighting controls have the biggest changes pertaining to the electrical section of the IECC.
The lighting control requirements are now mandatory with only 3 exceptions:
Areas designated as security or emergency areas that are required to be continuously lighted.
Interior exit stairways, interior exit ramps and exit passageways.
Emergency egress lighting that is normally off.
The provision from 2009 IECC to provided automatic shutoff for buildings larger than 5,000 SF has been removed. All buildings must now have automatic shutoff. This can be accomplished either with occupancy sensors or timeclocks and contactor panels.
As of 2009 IECC, occupancy sensors were only required to help accomplish the automatic shutoff for buildings larger than 5,000 SF. The 2015 IECC has more stringent requirements and occupancy sensors must be included in the following spaces:
Classrooms/lecture/training rooms
Conference/meeting/multipurpose rooms
Copy/print rooms
Lounges
Employee lunch and break rooms
Private offices
Restrooms
Storage rooms
Janitorial closets
Locker rooms
Other spaces 300 SF or less that are enclosed by floor-to-ceiling height
Warehouses
In areas that do not have occupancy sensors, IECC requires all other spaces to be provided with time switch controls. For all spaces that are provided with time switch controls, they also must be supplied with a manual control for light reduction that reduces the connected lighting load in a reasonably uniform illumination pattern by at least 50%.
The 2015 IECC was modified to more closely align with ASHRAE 90.1. Where occupancy sensors are required, they must:
Turn off the lights within 30 minutes of all occupants leaving the space.
Be manual on or controlled to automatically turn the lighting on to not more than 50 percent power.
This provision forces designers to use vacancy sensors (manual on, automatic off) in lieu of occupancy sensors (automatic on, automatic off) or you can introduce a more complex control system to achieve automatically turning the light on to not more than 50 percent power. There are some exceptions where you can still use occupancy sensors, those are public corridors, stairways, restrooms, primary building entrance areas and lobbies, and areas where manual-on operation would endanger the safety or security of the room or building occupants.
2. Daylight Responsive Controls
Lights in daylight zones have also had more stringent requirements added to them. This along with more daylight being introduced into a building will add more controls to a typical lighting system to comply with the newer energy code. Daylight responsive controls means that general lighting in daylight zones shall be controlled independently of lights outside of the daylight zone. Where located in offices, classrooms, laboratories and library reading rooms, the daylight responsive controls shall dim lights continuously from full light output to 15 percent of full light output or lower.
Daylight responsive controls are required in:
Spaces with a total of more than 150 watts of general lighting within the sidelight or toplight daylight zone (window or skylight).
Not required in:
Spaces in health care facilities where patient care is directly provided.
Dwelling and sleeping units
Lighting that is required to have specific application control
Sidelight daylight zones on the first floor above grade in group A-2 and Group M occupancies.
The IECC also explains what constitutes the daylight zone. Below is information on how to decide how large the daylight zone will be due to a vertical fenestration (window).
The daylight zone from a vertical fenestration shall extend from the floor to the top of the window and either to the wall or 2 ft on either side of the window (whichever is less). See the figure below from IECC.
These requirements along with the vacancy sensor requirements are pushing designers into using room controllers. These are digital devices that typically have 3 zones of control and multiple numbers of devices that can be connected to them. Feel free to reach out to us or your electrical engineer to learn more about these room controllers.
3. Exterior Lighting Controls
Exterior lighting controls have also been made a little more stringent to more closely align with ASHRAE 90.1. Exterior lighting still has to be automatically shut off as a function of available daylight, but the biggest change is that lighting other than building façade or landscape shall have controls to automatically reduce the connected lighting power by not less than 30 percent from:
Midnight to 6 a.m. or
One hour after business closing to one hour before business opening or
During any period when activity has not been detected for a time of longer than 15 minutes.
This requirement will add more controls systems to the exterior lights, such as a dimming system tied to the photocell that will automatically reduce the lighting based on the time requirements.
4. Lighting Power
The total connected power requirements for interior lighting and exterior lighting have been lowered which pushes designers into using primarily LED fixtures to comply with the low W/SF requirements.
2015 IECC does not require receptacle control the same way 2013 ASHRAE 90.1 does. This is something to consider when deciding which standard to comply with for your energy code.
It’s always best to seek professional guidance to ensure you meet requirements of all the current codes.