Hailey's Sustainable Building and Planning Committee will make a recommendation to the City Council on Monday that the city adopt building code guidelines to increase energy efficiency.
Planner Mariel Platt said the committee will recommend that energy efficiency in all commercial and residential new construction and additions be increased by 10 percent compared to what's required by the current building code.
The committee will also recommend that all new construction address water conservation, waste management, indoor air quality and durability.
The Sustainable Building and Planning Committee was created late last year in response to a recommendation by the city's Environmental Leadership Program that its sustainability efforts would be best achieved by updating building and zoning codes.
The committee consists of builders, architects and environmental consultants: Richard Meyer, Chip Maguire, Garth Callaghan, Jay Cone, Jolyon Sawrey, Craig Barry, Troy Quesnel, Brian Bothwell and Mat Hall.
The committee will recommend that the new code be applied to building additions over 500 square feet, with several exemptions for minor alterations.
To measure the energy efficiency of new construction, the committee is recommending that new homes and remodels undergo a required "energy audit." Energy audits often use equipment such as blower doors, which measure the extent of leaks in the building envelope, infrared cameras, which reveal hard-to-detect areas of air infiltration and missing insulation, and a duct-blaster test to assess the leakiness of the heating duct system.
"Additional building improvements would not necessarily be required based on the audits," said Platt. "They are an informational tool that can show people where savings could be made."
Hailey recently acquired $35,000 in funding to pay for energy audits. The City Council has not yet decided how and when that money will be spent.
Energy audits cost on average $450 for homes under 3,500 square feet.
Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com
