The submission form will be available until June 8, 2018 at 5:00 PM EST. Any questions about this process can be directed to Brian Wolfgang, associate director of the PHRC, at 814-865-1226, bwolfgang@engr.psu.edu.
Background InformationWhy was this created?In November 1999, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 45, known as the Uniform Construction Code (UCC), into law mandating a statewide building code across Pennsylvania. Act 45 requires the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) to promulgate regulations to implement the requirements of the legislation and, in addition, to consider the development of alternative prescriptive methods for energy conservation that account for the various climatic regions within the Commonwealth. In deriving these energy standards, the DLI was to seek to balance energy savings with initial construction costs.
What is the PA Alternative?The Pennsylvania Alternative Residential Energy Provisions were developed with the intent of being: simpler to build and easier to enforce; more rational and flexible; focused on Pennsylvania in terms of climatic and other conditions; and, equivalent to the provisions of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) in terms of energy efficiency. For reference, the current (2009) version of the PA Alternative can be found here.
How does the PA Alternative work?This compliance path allows for some modifications in energy efficiency or trade-offs. To provide for equivalent performance, the building owner or agent must choose one of the energy enhancement options as an entrance requirement for this path.