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What's new this month:
- Upcoming Webinars/Events
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New SPEER Blog: 2030 Energy Code Update
- IECC & IECCX Adoption Survey
- Noteworthy
- SPEER Resources & Webinar Archive
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Webinar: Understanding the 2024 IECC Energy Rating Index – Section R406
February 17 (TODAY) @ 10:30 am
The Energy Rating Index (ERI) in the 2024 IECC is often misunderstood, inconsistently enforced, or incorrectly treated as a program rather than a code compliance path. This one-hour technical webinar provides a clear, code-only breakdown of Section R406, with a focus on how building officials, plan reviewers, and inspectors should review, approve, and verify ERI compliance in the field.
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CELC Webinar: Weatherization & Home Energy Financing – Practical Solutions for Texas Families
February 19 @ 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Clean Energy Fund of Texas (CEFTX), in partnership with SPEER, will host an informative webinar on practical, affordable pathways to weatherization and home energy improvements for Texas homeowners. This session will provide an overview of the most impactful residential weatherization solutions.
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TRACS 2026 Summit: Meeting the Moment - Shaping Tomorrow Together
March 1-3, 2026 @ St. Edward's University
Join us March 1-3, 2026 at St. Edward's University in Austin for the 12th Annual TRACS Summit! Connect with sustainability leaders across Texas higher education, learn evidence-based practices, and drive meaningful change on your campus.
What to Expect: Interactive sessions on energy efficiency, climate resilience, and building a culture of sustainability. Network with students, faculty, and staff committed to environmental preservation, economic development, and social equity.
Get Involved:
Registration: Students $20 | Faculty/Staff/Others $175
Learn more and register here!
Together, let's turn "What If?" into "What's Next?"
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Webinar: 2024 IECC Commercial – What to Enforce (Without Mechanical)
March 10 @ 10:30 am
The 2024 IECC brings meaningful changes to commercial energy code enforcement—especially for building envelope, lighting, electrical systems, and commissioning. This session cuts through the noise and focuses on what plan reviewers and inspectors in Texas are most often asked to verify in the field and at the counter.
By intentionally excluding Section C403 (Mechanical), this training zeroes in on the areas that most commonly delay approvals, trigger corrections, or result in late-stage compliance disputes. Attendees will walk away with practical enforcement guidance and clear expectations aligned with how commercial projects are actually reviewed and inspected across Texas.
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In-Person SPEER Energy Ambassador and TECCC Meeting
April 8
Hilton Garden Inn Austin - Round Rock
We’re hosting an in-person SPEER Energy Ambassador and Texas Energy Code Compliance Collaborative (TECCC) meeting this April!
This session will provide timely updates on Texas and SECO’s progress toward adopting the 2024 IECC, and we’ll discuss key energy efficiency bills that could have impact during the next legislative session. This is a valuable opportunity for stakeholders to connect, share insights, and help shape the direction of energy code implementation in Texas.
Your voice matters—come be part of the conversation and collaborate with peers and partners from across the state. Head here to register!
Learn more about all of our Energy Code Programs here.
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SPEER/CleanTX Earth Week Workshop & Happy Hour
April 21, 2-6 PM
Scholz Garten, Austin
CleanTX and SPEER are partnering for an Earth Week Workshop & Happy Hour focused on Community-First Grid Expansion.
As data centers and hyperscalers drive unparalleled electricity demand in Texas, utilities face mounting pressure to connect new load faster than traditional grid infrastructure can be planned and built. The need for innovative, near-term solutions is urgent. Our two panel session will explore how strategically reducing residential energy use, shifting load, and investing in energy efficiency, demand response, and distributed energy resources can unlock grid capacity, accelerate data center interconnections, and deliver shared benefits for utilities, communities, and consumers through collaborative, community-focused energy strategies. We will provide ICC CEU's for workshop sessions.
Registration and sponsorship options here.
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New SPEER Blog: 2030 Energy Code Update | | |
SPEER’s recent blog on the 2030 energy code update examines changes to the ICC’s code adoption process that, in recent years, have shifted influence away from broad stakeholder input and data-driven decision-making toward special interests. This raises concerns about the potential weakening of long-established energy efficiency and building standards. One key issue is the proposed division between a base 2030 IECC and an expanded “IECCX.” This approach could create a weaker baseline code, generate confusion for jurisdictions, and add complexity for communities working to meet climate or energy goals.
The blog also highlights concerns about a narrowly defined cost-effectiveness test that considers energy savings only for the building’s first owner. By emphasizing a shortened simple payback period, this change could incentivize lower efficiency options and result in a 2030 code that is less efficient than recent editions, potentially driving up long-term energy costs for consumers.
Dive in here.
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Attention CBO’s and Jurisdiction Building Code Adoption Departments ONLY:
IECC and IECCX Adoption Survey
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New Buildings Institute (NBI) is conducting a brief (5–10 minute) survey to better understand states and jurisdictions’ anticipated ability to adopt the IECC and IECC Extended (IECCX) as currently drafted for the 2030 code cycle by the ICC Board.
The survey is intended for building and energy code enforcement departments, state building code council representatives, and other agencies involved in energy code adoption. All questions are optional, and responses will be aggregated and anonymized before sharing. Individual responses will remain confidential unless permission is given otherwise.
Survey link can be found here – please consider participating.
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Important Update on Federal Energy Code Implementation
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a further delay in enforcing the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ASHRAE 90.1-2019 as the minimum energy-efficiency standards for certain HUD-supported single-family and multifamily housing programs — extending compliance deadlines to December 31, 2026, at HUD’s urging.
This extension provides additional time for the housing industry to prepare and underscores ongoing concerns related to housing affordability and buildability associated with mandatory energy code adoption. While compliance with these standards can affect construction practices and project costs, estimates of the potential cost impact on new homes vary widely and remain a point of debate among stakeholders.
While this delay offers temporary relief, there is still work to be done to ensure any future energy-efficiency requirements balance performance goals with housing supply and affordability pressures.
Read the full article from NAHB.
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When: Feb 26th
Where: ARCXIS QAD Summit in Houston
When: Mar 17th – 20th
Where: San Antonio for the 2026 RESNET® Conference
When: April 9th
Where: Energy Ambassador/TECCC In-person meeting in Round Rock
When: Apr 16th-17th
Where: Houston GBRC / CEC Trainings
| *Interested in SPEER bringing in-field training to you or learning about the 2021 IECC changes, mechanical ventilation training, and HVAC best practices? |
| | SPEER Resources & Webinar Archive |
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In Case You Missed It!
Did you miss our recent webinar, 2024 IECC R405 Performance Path – What’s New, What’s Required, and How to Enforce It?
Watch this focused training on the Simulated Building Performance Path found in Section R405 of the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code. This session explains how proposed home designs are modeled and compared to the Standard Reference Design, highlights major changes from previous code editions, and clarifies which building features can—and cannot—be traded off through performance modeling. We covered updated HVAC and ventilation requirements, infiltration limits, renewable energy constraints, and documentation expectations for plan reviewers and inspectors.
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Check out all the resources we have on our website, including a link to our YouTube page with hours of video training content! |
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