Texas House Bill (HB) 3215 to Take Effect on September 1st

 

House Bill 3215 was signed into law by the Governor on June 14, 2021, as part of the 87th Regular session.  Codified in Chapter 388, Texas Building Energy Performance Standards: §388.003.  As a new law on the books, the State will now recognize Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index scores as a standalone compliance pathway and untangle it from the current ICC/IRC versions of the energy rating index (ERI) pathway.  The previous law leaned on the IRC’s version of the ERI, which have been inconsistent and caused significant market confusion. House Bill 3215 strips this pathway away from the IRC altogether and puts it under the ANSI/RESNET 301-2019 Standard (ex: HERS Index).  This independent HERS pathway will be on a 10-year plan until it is required to be revisited at the State level again.  This means that once passed, every city must recognize this independent HERS Index option regardless of what IECC version they have adopted locally (identical to how ENERGY STAR is hardcoded into law).  This could provide many builders (especially Climate Zone 3 builders) with a very viable long-term Statewide compliance option moving forward. 

 

Below are the HERS Index pathway thresholds that will remain in effect for 10 years. 

Note: 2018 IECC mandatory items and building envelope thresholds must be upheld as part of these HERS scores.

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If you have any questions or need clarification regarding these changes, please contact us at

Dallas/Fort Worth (817) 546-0160

Austin (512) 651-5753

Houston  (713) 937-6060

San Antonio (210) 390-0250

 
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