Severance staff review 2024 international codes; state mandates for solar-, EV- and electric-ready drive concern over costs and enforcement

Russ Weber, building official with Safe Health, briefed the Severance Town Council at a work session on the 2024 International Code Council (ICC) model codes and state-mandated changes, focusing on energy provisions, solar-ready and EV-ready requirements and several items the town plans to address separately.

Weber said the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) generally tracks the 2018 code with clarifications and a few new compliance options, and that a regional code-adoption committee (Longmont, Loveland, Johnstown, Fort Collins, Larimer County, Greeley and Wellington) reviewed the 2024 cycle together to align local requirements. “The 24 codes were published last year about November,” Weber said. “So we went through the IBC, the IRC, the IMC, all of them.”

Why it matters: state-level mandates tied to the energy, plumbing and electric codes require municipalities that adopt a building code to accept the most current energy code. Weber told council that the 2021 energy code had raised costs for builders substantially, while the 2024 IECC has lowered some of those impacts; however, new state mandates for solar-ready, EV-ready and “electric-ready” features still add expense and raise questions about timing and enforceability.

Most important details - State mandates: Weber summarized that the state requires jurisdictions adopting a building code to also adopt the current energy code and to include…