Upon the effective date of this article, the following amendments to the Specialized Energy Code are adopted, and all new construction and major renovations shall be constructed in accordance therewith:
A. Low-Rise Residential Code (225 CMR
22 Appendix RC). Sections RC102 and RC104, “Zero Energy Pathway” and “Mixed Fuel Pathway,” shall not be permitted for use for new construction or major renovations, with the following exceptions:
(1) Emergency generators and standby power systems.
(2) For existing fossil fuel equipment:
(a) If existing fossil-fueled heating or hot water appliances have sufficient capacity to satisfy the additional loads of major renovation, the existing equipment may be utilized.
(b) If the existing fossil-fueled heating or hot water appliances do not have sufficient capacity to satisfy the additional loads of a major renovation, the existing equipment may be retained and used, and any additional heating load must be satisfied with all electric equipment.
(c) Existing fossil-fueled heating or hot water appliances may be replaced with new equipment of higher efficiency and the same or lower capacity as measured in Btu/h or kW as the existing equipment.
B. Commercial and All Other (225 CMR
23 Appendix CC). Sections CC103 and CC105, “Zero Energy Pathway” and “Mixed-Fuel Pathway,” shall not be permitted for new construction or major renovations, with the following exceptions:
(1) Research laboratories for scientific or medical research;
(2) Hospitals or medical offices;
(3) Indoor or outdoor cooking appliances for commercial use, provided that sufficient electrical capacity and infrastructure, including outlets, are installed to accommodate conversion to all electric cooking with appliances having equivalent thermal power and intensity to all gas-fired appliances specified in the building permit application, that any new gas combustion cooking appliances be either directly vented to the outside or provided with a capture hood and fan exhausting 100 CFM to the outside for every 1000 Btu/h of appliance capacity with make-up air provided in compliance with current regulations, and the building permit application is filed prior to January 1, 2035;
(4) Freestanding outdoor cooking appliances that are not connected to the building's natural gas or propane infrastructure;
(5) Freestanding outdoor heating appliances that are not connected to the building's natural gas or propane infrastructure;
(6) Emergency generators and standby power systems;
(7) Appliances to produce potable or domestic hot water from hot water systems in buildings with a gross floor area of at least 10,000 square feet, provided that sufficient electrical capacity and infrastructure is installed to accommodate conversion to all electric heating of domestic water at the location(s) with equipment having equivalent thermal power and intensity to domestic hot water equipment as specified in the building permit application, and the building permit application is filed prior to January 1, 2035;
(8) Fossil fuels for process loads for manufacturing, industrial, and commercial purposes, provided that the process engineer on the project certifies by affidavit that no commercially available technology that uses only renewable energy or electricity can satisfy the process load requirement at a cost that allows the project to continue to be technically or financially viable;
(9) Change of use, provided all associated renovations and alterations do not consist of major renovations;
(10) For buildings connected to a district thermal network for the provision of heating, cooling, and domestic hot water, up to 20% of the design heating load, as determined by an approved ASHRAE Standard 90.1 submittal, shall be permitted to be supplied by fossil fuel;
(11) For existing fossil fuel equipment:
(a) If existing fossil-fueled heating or hot water appliances have sufficient capacity to satisfy the additional loads of major renovation, the existing equipment may be utilized;
(b) If the existing fossil-fueled heating or hot water appliances do not have sufficient capacity to satisfy the additional loads of a major renovation, the existing equipment may be retained and used, and any additional heating load must be satisfied with all electric equipment.
C. Equipment or appliances used for space heating, service water heating, cooking, clothes drying, and/or lighting that can utilize coal, oil, natural gas, other fossil fuel hydrocarbons, including synthetic equivalents, or other fossil fuels may not be installed as part of any residential or nonresidential major renovation, with exceptions listed in §
145-4A and
B above, and waivers in §
145-5. All major renovations must follow applicable Stretch Code requirements.