As part of the Green Communities Act of 2008, Massachusetts is required to update its building code every three years to be consistent with the most recent version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). These amendments are made to the IECC 2018 version. According to the IECC 2018 (followed by Massachusetts Energy Code as of November 8th 2020) section C406.7, the building types are divided into the following groups:
Group R-1: Boarding houses, hotels, or motels.
Group I-2: Hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and nursing homes.
Group A-2: Restaurants and banquet halls or buildings containing food preparation areas.
Group F: Laundries.
Group R-2: Buildings with residential occupancy.
Group A-3: Health clubs and spas.
Following are the few key amendments for prescriptive inputs used on the platform:
Platform Assumptions (all engineering inputs can be easily edited by the user):
Referring to the PNNL prototype models, the wood-framed walls with the attic roof is assumed for a small office building and steel-framed walls with insulation entirely above deck is assumed for all other commercial building types in cove.tool.
The fixed fenestration type from table C402.4 is assumed for windows for all building types.
Window SHGC value is picked for the 'SEW' direction when the Projection Factor (PF) is less than 0.2.
The following C406.1 requirements are met with the early-stage model to make compliance easier in the later stages of energy modeling:
Reduced lighting power density system in accordance with section C406.3
Enhanced lighting controls in accordance with section C406.4
Reduced air-infiltration in accordance with Section C406.10
Find out more about the Massachusetts Energy Code here.