LOUISIANA

CURRENT CODE
Louisiana will receive $71.7 Million from the federal gov-
ernment if the state adopts the latest energy codes:
Residential: IECC 2009 (International Energy Conservation
2006 IRC Code)
Commercial:
ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1- ASHRAE 90.1 2007 (American Society of Heating
2004, 2006 IECC for build- Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers)
ings not covered by ASH- Accumulated residential sector savings, 2009 to 2030,
RAE
would be:
DEMOGRAPHICS 10.5 trillion Btu of energy
Population: 4,410,796 733 thousand metric tons of CO2 (Equivalent to an-
nual greenhouse gases for 134,249 passenger vehicles)
Total Housing Units:
1,880,122 $85 million
$85 million would more than pay the full under-
ENERGY graduate tuition of current students at private univer-
CONSUMPTION sities in Louisiana.
Residential Sector:
345.9 Trillion BTU FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES:
Commercial Sector:
In February 2009 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated $3.1 bil-
264.4 Trillion BTU
lion for U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program (SEP) to assist states
47% of the state’s natural gas with building energy efficiency efforts. As one of the requirements to receive SEP
supply and 47% of consumed grants, state governors must certify to DOE that their state will implement energy
electricity are used for heating codes of equal or greater stringency than the latest national model codes (currently
the home.
IECC 2009 and Standard 90.1-2007). Thus, it is in the state’s best economic inter-
Natural gas is the largest con- ests to adopt these standards statewide and begin enjoying the benefits of an effi-
sumed source of energy for the cient building sector.
state’s residential sector.
CODE ADOPTION AND CHANGE PROCESS: Legislative and Regulatory:
Residential use of natural gas
in Louisiana costs up to Energy codes are adopted through the state legislature. However, the Office of the
$12.84/thousand cu ft., ex-State Fire Marshal is granted the authority to promulgate amendments, revisions,
ceeding the national average.
and alternative compliance methods for the code. Once promulgated, they replace
the existing code. Additionally, HB 552, signed on June 21, 2005, allows for future
CODE CHANGE CYCLE
Beginning in January 2007, commercial energy code updates to be carried out through regulatory instead of leg-
codes are upgraded every 3 islative process.
years For more information please consult the Building Codes Assistance Project (www.bcap-energy.org)
or Nick Zigelbaum (nzigelbaum@nrdc.org)

BCAP
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