Southwest Energy Efficiency Project

Arizona

Building Energy Codes

As a home rule state, mandatory building energy codes are adopted and enforced on a local level. As of June 2007, 21 communities in Arizona have adopted some form of the International Energy Conservation Code; visit the website of the International Code Council at www.iccsafe.org for up-to-date jurisdictional adoption information.

In 2001, Arizona enacted legislation encouraging local governments to voluntarily adopt the 2000 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for residential construction and ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1999 for commercial construction. The state does require that its own buildings comply with ASHRAE Standard 90.1-1999, the most recent and model standard for energy efficiency in commercial buildings. In addition, legislation adopted in 2003 requires state agencies and universities to achieve a 10% reduction in energy use per unit of floor area by 2008, and a 15% reduction by 2011.

In 2004, Phoenix adopted the 2004 IECC Supplement, its first building energy code. It has since updated to the 2006 IECC.

The city of Tucson has adopted the 2003 IECC for residential and commercial construction. In addition, since 1998 it has implemented a Sustainable Energy Standard for city-owned and financed residential, multi-family, and commercial buildings. The standard is based on an energy code that was developed for the Community of Civano. Over the years the Sustainable Energy Standard has evolved, and in 2006, the Tucson city council updated it to equal compliance with the USGBC Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.

Additional Information

© 2002-2008 Southwest Energy Efficiency Project
2260 Baseline Rd. Suite 212, Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 447-0078 fax: (303) 786-8054 info@swenergy.org

Last Updated: 01/28/2008