Free Energy Code Trainings & Current Code Information

CORE (Community Office for Resource Efficiency), Energy Smart Colorado & CLEER (Clean Energy Economy for the Region) are partnering together to offer our valley (3) FREE sessions on the 2015 IECC Residential & Commercial codes & their real world applications. During these sessions, you will "take a look at not just WHAT the Energy Code says but what it actually looks like applied in the real world. Through pictures & videos of field applications, you will look at the true intent behind the code requirements." Each workshop will be presented by Shaunna Mozingo from Colorado Code Consulting. 

ICC Continuing Education Hours as well as AIA Learning Units are also available!

To RSVP, email Shaunna at smozingo@coloradocode.net

• RIFLE: Wednesday, June 24th
• Rifle City Clerk, 202 Railroad Ave. (City Council Chambers)
• 8am to 12pm - Residential
• 1pm to 5pm - Commercial
• Lunch will be provided.

• CARBONDALE: Thursday, June 25th
• The Third Street Center, 520 S. Third St. (Calaway Room)
• 9am to 12pm - Residential
• 1pm to 4pm - Commercial
• Coffee, light breakfast & lunch will be provided.

• ASPEN: Friday, June 26th 
• Aspen Firehouse, 420 E. Hopkins Ave. (parking available at the Rio Grande Parking Garage)
• 9am to 12pm - Residential
• 1pm to 4pm - Commercial
• Coffee, light breakfast & lunch will be provided.

From Rifle to Aspen, we have (3) different counties in which we are in jurisdiction. Rifle & Carbondale are within Garfield County, Basalt is within Pitkin & Eagle (separated by the Roaring Fork River), while Aspen is within Pitkin County. Below is the most recent information for each county's current building code...

• PITKIN COUNTY - 
• SNOWMASS VILLAGE - 
• 2012 International Energy Conservation Code
• 2012 International Green Construction Code
• ASPEN - 
• 2009 International Building Code
• The adopted appendices for this code are:
• Group U – Agricultural Buildings
• Supplementary Accessibility Requirements
• Patio Covers
• Grading
• 2009 International Residential Code; Chapters 1-10 Only!
• The adopted appendices for this code are:
• Manufactured Housing Used as Dwellings
• Radon Control Methods
• Patio Covers
• Existing Buildings and Structures
• Sound Transmission
• 2009 International Plumbing Code
• 2009 International Mechanical Code
• 2009 International Fuel Gas Code
• 2009 International Fire Code  
• 2014 National Electrical Code
• 2009 International Energy Code (Ordinance 11: Adoption of the 2009 IECC) 
• ICC/ANSI A117.1, 2003

• ORDINANCES
• Ordinance 7 - Building Code Requirements for Roofs in Wild Fire Zones 
• Urban Wild Fire Map Memo Regarding Urban Wild Fire Building Code Regulations
• Carbon Monoxide Code
• Carbon Monoxide Handout

• Additional Information on Energy Code Compliance
• 2009 International Energy Conservation Code
• Encourages energy conservation through efficiency in envelope design, mechanical systems, lighting systems and the use of new materials and techniques.
• Ordinance 11 - The adoption of the 2009 IECC
• U.S. Department of Energy http://www.energy.gov/
• ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook: "U-Factor (Overall Coefficient of Heat Transfer)"

• Renewable Energy Mitigation Program (REMP)
• 2009 IECC REMP Calculations - Instructions, Worksheets, GSHPS (This is an excel spreadsheet with pages for instructions, residential and commercial worksheets, and Ground Source Heat Pump Source Certification)

• Aspen-Pitkin Efficient Building Program (APEBP)

• GARFIELD COUNTY - 
• 2009 International Building Code
• Additional Building Requirements
• CARBONDALE - 
• 2012 International Green Construction Code
• REBP (Residential Efficient Building Program)
• REBP Checklist
• REBP Checklist Guidelines
• 2009 IBC, IRC, IMC, IPC, IFGC, IECC
• 2008 NEC
• EAGLE COUNTY - 
• 2009 International Building Code
• 2009 International Residential Code
• 2009 International Plumbing Code
• 2009 International Mechanical Code
• 2009 International Fuel Gas Code
• 2009 International Fire Code  
• National Electrical Code Amendments
• 2009 International Energy Code
• Wildfire Regulations
• ECO Build Regulations
• These regulations take into account some aspects of the IgCC & IECC.
• BASALT - Currently in the process of adopting parts of Eagle County's ECO Build. These are to be implemented by the end of 2015. 
• 2006 IECC
• Sustainable Building Regulations

Fireclay Tile

Fireclay Tile... the world's first B Corp, or B-Corporation, tile company. First things first, what is a B Corp? Well, it's a "Benefit Corporation". These companies operate the same as a traditional corporation, but with higher standards of corporate purpose, social & environmental obligations as well as accountability & transparency. Ultimately, a B Corp is to business what Fair Trade certification is to coffee or USDA Organic certification is to milk. 

To these companies, business is not all about profit, it's about being a change for the good.

Fireclay produces tile, glass & glazed thin brick. The company seeks to be environmentally conscious throughout the production cycle, from manufacturing to shipment of product to its final destination. Not to mention, their customer service is top notch! About 80% of all Fireclay products come from recycled materials with the ceramic clay being a minimum of 70% recycled. As far as the glass tiles, those are 100% locally recycled, with the glass coming from products originally destined for the landfill, including toilets & Cathode Ray Tubes from discarded TVs.

 

As far as business operations, gas emissions & electricity usage are offset. These offsets are paid by the company & the money is used to help with numerous projects, from reforestation to producing renewable energy via solar or wind. Fireclay uses Carbon Fund for these offsets. Last but certainly not least, all employees have great benefits & an ownership stake in the company. 

Go check them out today & consider these fabulous tiles for your next project!

Aspen Green Drinks

Every month, like-minded individuals, passionate about sustainability, gather to exchange ideas & network over beverages. It's a very informal setting with lots of wonderful energy. If interested, please come check out the group!

2015 Green Drinks Schedule:

All events are hosted from 5-7pm in Aspen, unless otherwise noted. 

• Wednesday May 20 - We-Cycle (TBD)

• Wednesday June 17 - Land + Shelter (301 E Hopkins Ave Ste 211 - take the stairs next to Meat & Cheese)

• Wednesday July 15 - Stan Clauson (412 N. Mill Street)

• Wednesday August 16 - Community Office for Resource Efficiency (111 Aspen Airport Business Center Suite M)

• Wednesday September 16 - Aspen TREE (Cozy Point Ranch 210 Juniper Hill Road, Snowmass)

• Wednesday October 21 - Bluegreen (300 S. Spring Steet #202)

• Wednesday November 18 - Aspen Art Museum (637 E. Hyman Ave)

Thanks to Aspen ZGreen for hosting these events! 

Happy Earth Day!

Today marks another Earth Day & it's 45th anniversary! Every day should be Earth Day, but today is a special reminder to all that we live on a special planet & we need to do our due diligence to keep it healthy.

Aspen's Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE) is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their Renewable Energy mitigation Program (REMP). This program is the world's first of its kind. The program supports renewable energy use by requiring new homes to mitigate their environmental impact by either installing their own on-site renewables (solar panels, geothermal systems, etc.) or to pay fines that in turn fund various grant programs that lower carbon emissions in the Roaring Fork Valley. 

The City of Aspen is the destination for many wealthy individuals that desire to build very large homes equipped with snowmelt, outdoor pools & spas. We love these clients, but heating for these large homes as well as the snowmelt, outdoor pools & spas is required for the colder months & most often when the homeowners are not occupying the home. Requiring on-site renewables or paying a mitigation fee helps to reduce the environmental impacts of the large homes & ensuring that our Valley stays beautiful for the current & future residents & visitors!

If you're in the area, come celebrate Earth Day with the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, The City of Aspen & CORE at Hallam Lake this afternoon from 5-7pm! More information here. 

What I Learned at Rocky Mountain Green

Rocky Mountain Green 2015 was an incredible experience! There was over 500 attendees, many incredible education sessions & building tours!

The Opening Plenary laid out the future plans for the National Western Complex. The Complex would like to connect the (3) adjacent neighbors & be a place that is used year-round complete with a farmers market, new transit stations & an emphasis on the South Platte River bordering the site.

The day then commenced with a full schedule packed with education sessions. Some topics included Greening Colorado's Marijuana Industry, Beyond the Building (what a business can be; not what it's supposed to be), Integrative Design & an introduction to Colorado's Contractor Challenge. The Contractor Challenge is an opportunity to be "green" even if your building isn't pursuing LEED Certification. Some of the examples include having a Green Team, recycling materials on-site, incentivising carpooling, using local materials, etc. 

The picture  to the left shows the different stages in integrative design.

To the right is a screenshot of the Contractors Challenge presentation highlighting how waste can be minimized. 

Friday is spent "off-site" with workshops in the morning and a choice of a bike tour or volunteering for the river clean-up in the afternoon. The workshop I attended was in regards to materials & the new applicable credits for the new LEEDv4 rating system. The credits now focus on the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of each material going into a project & the third-party verification of these materials. It's a definite game-changer for all of the suppliers & manufacturers involved! These credits are essentially asking for a "nutrition label" for each material on the job.There are 80,000 chemicals used in the construction industry & only 5 have been banned. That's a lot of unknown hazards & new LEED system has set out to evaluate these hazards.

Friday afternoon was spent biking around Denver looking & getting tours of the new green projects in town. These projects included the new LEED Gold apartment complex that sits right next to Union Station, the new Boathouse infill project which now occupies a once small, vacant lot & is home to offices of small start-up companies. We also biked down the new bike lanes that Denver had implemented & ended with a tour of the Alliance Center which is home to incredible non-profit groups devoted to sustainability. 

Looking forward to next year's Rocky Mountain Green!

Rocky Mountain Green Conference

Later this week is Colorado's premier green building conference! The 2-day conference consists of presentations, vendor exhibits, building tours, community outreach & countless networking opportunities. For more information please visit the homepage. 

In the past, it has drawn about 500 people each year & the attendance numbers continue to grow. Attendees usually consist of architects, engineers, city officials, planners & builders. Thursday consists of a full day of education sessions & Friday consists of morning workshops & afternoon community outreach opportunities as well as a bike ride & a closing happy hour. 

The conference is a great way to continue your education in the ever-changing world of green building as well as meet other professionals & earn LEED Continuing Education hours!

Some of the highlighted projects include:

• The Sterling Ranch of Colorado - 

"Sterling Ranch, Colorado will soon be home to over 12,000 new residences, spaciously sweeping across nine unique villages all radiating outward from an amenity-rich town center and grand civic gathering place. Pedestrian friendly planning and design focused on connectivity offers 30 miles of trails, beautiful open space, 2 state parks and 3 regional parks.

Surroundings that celebrate the natural beauty of the land, and innovation that ensures the promise of tomorrow… that is the Nature of Sterling Ranch, Colorado."

• Lamar Station Crossing -

Mixed-income, mixed-use apartment community. Pursuing LEED Gold (New Construction) and LEED Gold (Neighborhood Development) certification. Lamar Station Crossing will be the first newly constructed apartment community to be built along the West Rail Line.  Only 15 minutes from the heart of downtown Denver and Golden by train, Lamar Station Crossing is optimally located for households of all types, ages, and incomes.