Massachusetts communities have a few options regarding the building code; QCAN strongly supports Quincy’s adoption of the newly available Specialized Energy Code.  

All buildings must be built to the MA State Building Code (Base Code) standards, which are minimum safety and energy standards.  In 2011, Quincy adopted the Stretch Code which requires that buildings be more energy-efficient.  Quincy is not alone; we are one of 267 MA communities that follow the Stretch Code.  In late 2022, a third option, the Specialized Energy Code, was introduced; in addition to requiring energy-efficient new construction, it requires that new buildings either be all-electric, or be easily converted to all-electric appliances.  As of April 2024, 34 MA communities have adopted the Specialized Energy Code, and many more are considering it.

Unlike the Base Code and Stretch Code, the Specialized Energy Code only affects new construction; it does not affect renovations or additions to existing buildings.  The Specialized Energy Code requires that new buildings be set up for easy conversion to use electricity for heating, hot water, cooking, and drying clothes.  

Why do we care what powers our new buildings’ appliances?  A new building that uses electric heat pumps produces today on average 53% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than one that uses natural gas for heating.  And because Massachusetts law requires increasing percentages of electricity to be produced by renewable energy each year, by 2050 that same building will produce 93% fewer greenhouse gas emissions using heat pumps that it would with a gas-fired heating system.

Decisions made today about new buildings have major implications on current and future greenhouse gas emissions, which impacts our quality of life.  Emissions affect the frequency and severity of storms and flooding, and of heat waves and droughts.  And as everyone in Quincy knows, a lot of new buildings are being built here which will still be in use in 2050, 2070, and beyond.

Studies show that the net cost of new buildings using only electricity are always less expensive to build than those using natural gas appliances.  Generous Mass Save rebates and now some federal incentives make the net construction cost lower than using other fuels, including natural gas.  Alternatively, converting a building that uses natural gas or heating oil to use only electricity is complicated, messy, and expensive because you’d need to fish a lot of electrical wires, cut and patch a lot of holes, and possibly upgrade your electric panel.  So we want our new buildings to either use electricity now or be pre-wired so they can easily be converted to electricity use later when appliances are replaced.  Pre-wiring during construction is inexpensive to do before sheetrock and trim is installed.

QCAN urges the City Council to add Quincy to the growing list of communities adopting the Specialized Energy Code, so that newly constructed buildings don’t become unaffordable and obsolete.  We want our buildings to remain desirable in the future – and for them not to contribute to more disastrous climate change.

Please contact your City Councilors and the Mayor to let them know why you think this is important.

(image: Building code by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free)