Building Energy Code

Much of the information presented in this summary is drawn from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Energy Codes Program and the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP). For more detailed information about building energy codes, visit the DOE and BCAP web sites.

Legislation passed in March 2010 authorized the Alabama Energy and Residential Code (AERC) Board to adopt mandatory residential and commercial energy codes for all jurisdictions. In 2015, the AERC board updated its energy code to the 2015 Alabama Residential Energy Code and 2015 Alabama Commercial Energy Code. The residential code is based on the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) with modifications and will take effect on October 1, 2016. The commercial code is based on the ANSI/ASHRAE/IES standard 90.1-2013 and will take effect on January 1, 2016. 

The 2015 code succeeds the 2009 International Residential Code and the 2009 IECC for commercial buildings which were in effect starting October 2012. 

Click here for more information about Alabama's building codes.