Stephen Frail, Chair of the Needham Climate Action Planning Committee, presents details of Special Town Meeting Article 15, Opt-In Specialized Energy Code. From an information session co-hosted by Green Needham Collaborative and League of Women Voters of Needham on October 23, 2023.
Welcome to our information session on town meeting Article 15 opin specialized energy code the League of Women Voters of NM and green NM collaborative are both co-hosting and both groups have endorsed the article just a quick word about the League of Women Voters endorsing the
Article I did have a question on this we always make it clear that we do not endorse candidates or parties but the league does advocate for issues that it has a position on and that is approved by our board of directors and this article meets those criteria tonight we
Have two guest speakers Steph fril and Nick falcoff Stephen will give a presentation and Nick is here to answer questions so let’s go ahead and hear from Stephen he’s a NM town meeting member and he’s chair of our climate action plan committee thank you Karen appreciate the introduction uh for my fellow town
Meeting members this may be the first time you’re hearing from me as uh chair of the climate action planning committee um but this um this article is one of the first actions that the committee has recommended that the town take um for those of you who don’t know the
Committee um sits underneath the select board we are chartered by the select board and we are tasked with providing recommendations to the town for how it can meet the state um Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions targets by 2050 um so I’ll be going through a little bit that um today um in
Terms of uh today’s talk um I’m planning to talk about the why you know why are we recommending this opin specialized energy code for the town um what is it and then we’ll have a chance uh to go through some FAQs and then answer your questions as well um and as Karen
Mentioned Nick fov from auale I don’t need a sweatshirt we somebody to mute their line there okay so um you know climate change can be a difficult topic sometimes a little humor is helpful um somebody sent this to me just recently and I thought it
Might be a good way to kind of kick our our our why are we doing this um so I don’t know where you may personally fall on this but typically um most people are kind of in the um oops we probably should have done something um a few
Decades ago um in fact scientists have really known that climate change is a big issue and that it’s human cause for several decades in fact a recent survey of climate related papers published between 2012 and 2020 um indicated that there’s a 99% scientific consensus that climate change is human cost um so
That’s where we’re at um and it’s here so we a lot of people unfortunately have been seeing this firsthand um in Needum um so the the August 8th rainstorms 2023 is an example of uh one aspect of climate change and that is uh excessive U precipitation events so um we had
Vehicles homes U businesses as well as our Rosemary pool all dramatically impacted by that um very brief but very intense rainstorm on August 8th um there’s actually a lot of science behind being able to say that so with each additional one degree Fahrenheit of temperature the atmosphere can hold 4%
More vapor water vapor um and so more water vapor up there means when it does rain we have much more intense rainfalls um than historically we’ve had in NM um since the pre-industrial era the um the temperature has warmed already by 3.4 degrees so that effectively means using that math
Equation that we’re about uh 16% water vapor um can be held in the atmosphere above NM um and local extreme rainfall events are becoming much more common across um the planet and evenly uh the estimates now are that are our models of one one in 100 Year storm or one in
1,000 year storm are off by as much as 50% um in those one in 1,000 year storms which parts of NM um did did see in that August 8th event are going to become much more common in one in 1,000 years and we’re seeing other examples of
This so almost exactly a year before the um rain event there was a significant drought um droughts are also caused by climate change where or increasingly caused by climate change for the same reason um so when that water comes out of the ground um it doesn’t always fall
Where it came out and that can result in significant droughts uh and we’re also seeing more wind events like um wind shears and even tornadoes in the area so we can expect more of this as climate um change continues to impact more storms more heat waves more drought more
Flooding and that’s why we’re taking action so first and foremost we’re trying to ensure that meum reduces its contribution to climate change but doing so can also save us money and resources both in um reducing the the impact of climate change on our infrastructure our homes our businesses
Um but also increasingly some of the actions that we can take can save us money in terms of lowerer cooling bills um and uh less expensive construction there’s also a mass at state law that was passed that um I I alluded to at the introduction uh which
Commits the state to hitting net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 um it requires us to take immediate action um and uh and really come up with a pathway to getting there uh we can’t do it overnight it’s going to take uh a lot of effort this specialized opt-in energy
Code is one of the first steps we can take so buildings in them account for about 2third of our greenhouse gas emissions um so if you look at the the green on the right um the dark green is residential buildings and that’s about 37% of the greenhouse gas emissions and
27% are in our commercial buildings so achieving our Net Zero targets is going to require both efficiency upgrades to these existing homes and buildings um as well as anything that’s built between now and 2050 one other way of looking at our emissions is to look at the share of
Emissions that come just from Municipal vehicles and buildings and if you see the bottom left here about two and a half% total of our greenhouse gas emissions come directly from town so it really is the residential buildings the commercial buildings as well as passenger vehicles that are driving our contributions to greenhouse gas
Emissions that said we do have some large Municipal projects on the horizon Mitchell school and Pa school as well as um a DPW building that that will be um renovated or rebuilt there’s also um coming down the pipe a mvta communities act which could spur um significant new development in
Town um if if if passed this would uh potentially result in um mixed housing um multi- miixed use housing with residential and Commercial co-mingle so just some background on the stretch energy code history as well as uh where we got today um so green communities Act
Was passed in 2009 and that’s when the stretch energy code which we currently have in in meum adopted was first released and it was setting requirements at 20 to 35% above the base energy code um every 3 years the base energy code is increased to match the stretch
Code and then the stretch code um is is extended further uh it wasn’t until 2019 about 10 years later that Needum adopted the stretch energy code at annual town meeting in 2021 the state as I mentioned mandated a new energy code to provide a path for for the state to reach Net Zero
That was this new specialized code specialized energy code uh in that same year at town meeting town meeting um voted to approve a resolution declaring a climate and ecological em emergency so 2022 the code was actually released this is after uh many months of public
Comment at the state level um and it was introduced uh for new construction in 2023 uh the stretch code which I mentioned um is increased every few three years U was updated again and it went into effect in Needum in January of this year um in this fall we’re
Recommending that the town also adopt the opt-in specialized energy code thus far 24 communities um representing almost a quarter of the population in Massachusetts have adopted the specialized code you can see the list at the bottom um quite a few of our neighbors U Welsley Watertown Newton Sherborn U Lexington Carlile conquer are
All um already adopting it of these four um have actually started to apply it to new um building permits as they’ve passed in July the the rest are mostly going to be starting to issue permits under the new code in January uh and then a handful that are more recently
Passed it and NM would be in this cohort if we pass it we’ll implement it beginning in July of next year so um it has been stated that uh there will be some new grants opportunities for municipalities that adopt the specialized code is one of several criteria that the state um is
Putting out there for um what they’re calling the the uhu the climate leaders certification which is a an evolution of the green communities act so that’s a big um change carrot that the state’s putting out there I’ll get to one of the other carrots in a
Minute so the code itself um you can think of the codes as stacked on each other um there’s the base code which if no if no other codes are opted into by the municipality that’s what would apply to both new and and new construction and Renovations for commercial and
Residential uh NM adopted has however the updated stretch code in 2019 so that is the current code in place and it’s what um governs both new and Renovations in Needum today for commercial and residential the opin specialized code is a new set of appendices to the stretch energy code that apply specifically to
New construction and new construction only um so uh if we adopt this the the only projects that will be impacted will be any new projects new construction projects that are started after July of 2024 so here are the highlights um I mentioned this code only deals with new
Construction so if you remember just one thing about this code um it’s that it has no requirements for additions alterations and Renovations all additions alterations and Renovations are covered by the stretch code which is already in place second for homes and buildings that are all electric instruction so if
They’re designed from the outset to be all electric all electric there are no differences between the current stretch code that’s in place and the specialized energy code any new residential or commercial construction that uses fossil fuels and this is important you’re allowed to use fossil fuels in new buildings under the
New specialized energy code um the difference is that you’ll have to pre-wire it for electric conversion and install a minimum amount of solar to offset the emissions from the home um homes that are over 4,000 square feet and that’s the bulk of new homes built in need them today must offset all of
The home energies used with solar so why are these in here um so the the code is actually written to provide a lot of flexibility to builders and consumers but also to provide consumer protection um and by that um if we go back to the
Original goal of the state to get to Net Zero that does mean that at some point every home every building will have to have converted from fossil fuel heat and fossil fuel cooking and other appliances over to all electric the best time to do that is
When the building is built but if it’s not done at that point um pre-wiring for electric conversion saves the future tenant or homeowner um thousands of dollars over what they would have to pay if they were to update um at that point um so that’s why the pre-wiring rule is
In there and then for the solar uh requirement that’s also to ensure that these homes are um not contributing significantly to greenhouse gas uh increases over the next two decades one other change is that multi family um over 12,000 Square ft would need to meet passive house certifications um this is is already
Widely done in affordable housing in fact passive house uh we can talk about that if there’s any questions but essentially it’s saying that um the the home is is Net Zero Energy um it has uses no more energy on site than it produces um it’s a very efficient house
Design and it’s one that um larger buildings in particular um can benefit from uh significantly in fact Boston just had one of the largest passive house building projects um in the World um certified recently these significantly lower life cycle costs um and they’re eligible for for significant Mass Save
Incentives so this is a little bit of an ey chart um but I just wanted to go through a few of the different types of homes and types of buildings that would be built and and show the differences between the stretch code and the opin code so we’ll just focus on this new
Dwellings of up to 4,000 square feet on the top um if you look read across all electric construction um there are no differences between what the stretch code is and the opt-in code under the efficiency requirements so the houses are built to the same specifications there’s no changes in the
Electrification requirements under an all electric um dwelling they both have one parking space for Ev wiring um and renewable on-site generation is optional for both of them if you go down to the mixed fuel line so this means you’ve got um possibly um gas boiler in the house or maybe you’ve got
Gas stove or gas fireplace in the house um you’ll notice from the efficiency P perspective they’re still the same um but under electrification under the Str stretch code they don’t have to do under anything under the new opin specialized code should we adopt it they would have
To prewire it for future conversion to all electric again the e V spaces are the same um and then under renewable generation the other change is they would be required to put solar PV um panels on um assuming that there’s uh sufficient sunlight for those those homes under a dwelling over 4,000 square
Feet there’s it’s mostly the same there’s a couple of different changes um really um on the all electric uh pathway there’s no differences again but if there’s mix fuels in this case they essentially have to um do a 42 um hers rating um under the stretch
Code they have to get it down to zero now hers rating is essentially getting at the energy intensity of the building and so hers zero has a much lower energy intensity R rating than the the hers 42 and that’s primarily done through installing solar panels on the the house
To offset the the energy use of the house uh for schools and offices uh again under all electric construction if we design it from the outside for all electric there’s no changes in the two Pathways um under mixed fuels again you would have to pre-wire for conversion to
All electric and then have some on-site solar PV to offset some of the energy use of of the building um increasingly solar is becoming part of of a lot of school build buing projects already so this is not a bism requirement this one more interesting I’m sorry is there a question nope okay
Um so uh silver PV as I mentioned is is becoming increasingly uh common on school buildings today um and then in high ventilation Hospital Labs U it’s very similar pattern here all electric there’s no difference under mixed fuels pre-wiring and solar on site multifam has a slight difference um
So over 12,000 square feet um under the specialized code both all electric and mixed fuels um really have one prescribed pathway or two I should say a her zero or a passive house certification instead of um several strategies under the current code electrification again pre-wired and then small commercial follows follows the same
Pattern so one of the questions we do get is does the opt-in code require schools to be built to a high level efficiency not if they’re all electric um the opt-in specialized code rate efficiency ra ratings are identical for the updated stretch code of the building’s all electric uh building all
Electric does eliminate the need for costly future retrofits um we’ve actually been going through this as a town um looking at up retrofitting some of the buildings and it is quite expensive um fossil fuel is allowed in the school um but the school would have to be pre-wired for all electric um and
Solar PV may be required on site one other note with schools is the the msba state funded uh funding for schools um is also providing a 3% um Adder on on the refunds to municipalities that adop the opt-in specialized energy code um and go all electric um so that’s a
Significant savings if you think of the 400 million dollar of of school buildings for coming up um if we were to get any funding from msba they would provide an additional 3% back to need them if um if they’re all electric construction and we’ve adopted this code so another question is does the
Specialized energy code have any impact on Renovations like the mme grover um renovations no um so even if this code had been in place uh when the Emory Grover project started because it’s a renovation not a new construction it would not be um covered under this opt-in specialized code so it’s still
The updated stretch code Andor base code that would apply for Emory Grover we’ve also had this question would the electric grid be overwhelmed by building electrification so eversource tells us no um and our April climate action plan committee meeting we had eversource representatives to present um what their modeling is for nm’s electrification
Plans uh we we told them assume that we go to Net Zero full electrification so full electrification mean all buildings all vehicles are electric and Ed them by 2050 um what would never Source need to do to support such a transition um and so they said they’ve
Got plenty of room at our substation and transmission uh the one one flag they said is at the local street level level Transformers which are those cans that you see on telephone poles May occasionally need to be upgraded um so this happens today sometimes when somebody puts in an EV charger or a
Solar um PV on their roof um in in full electrification mode uh we could expect over time that uh more and more of those cans would need to be upgraded um and with that essentially does is allows to bring uh more electric service into the homes um so the other thing that eversource
Told us is the electric grid today is operating 20% below the alltime system peak in 2006 so if you think of all the things that we’ve been doing over the past um decade or so around switching to LED lights more efficient appliances um having better insulation installed doing
Our home energy audits all of that is actually had a significant impact on our all-time demand so we’re 20% below what our Peak was in 2006 um as we Electrify we can expect that start to um grow again um and so New England capacity is planned to double um
From 25 gws to 50 gws um and you you might have followed some of this in the news the the state is constantly looking for um new bids on offshore wind that’s all part and parcel to build the capacity to support electrification um in the future um so the other point for
Those offshore wind is that the electric grid is mandated to get greener by two to three% per year over the next decade or so until we’ve effectively squeezed the fossil fuels out of our electric grid so that’s the second part of the the equation we go we Electrify our
Homes but we also need to Green the electricity which today is about 60% natural gas and then the rest of it is a combination of cleaner sources of fuel I mentioned that NM had had said that our substation is um quite um good shape so they said by 2032 our principal substation is
Expected to be still only at 61% of what they call hrum um and it’s basically their model for determining on the worst possible day of the year in terms of energy use and um with perhaps uh one of their major assets offline um how much room is there in that substation to
Support demand um and so you can see at 61% we’re much better off even than our neighbors in that regard um and what their planning department does they continue to look at this number over time and as we approach 90% that’s when they look at um potential upgrades but for the most part
Um we have uh plenty of room for electrification over the next several decades the other thing the state has been doing is um is putting in incentives for Builders and developers so um there are um number of them one of them however is Do’s modeling shows that all electric homes are generally cheaper
To build um that’s generally because your heat pump does both Heating and Cooling um and so instead of having a central AC plus a furnace and having to run gas plus the electricity in the vents um you run uh one vent for your heating and cooling through the heat
Pumps um massve also provides um additional um incentives to builders for hitting U various hers targets again that’s the energy intensity of the building um so 45 single family you get 15,000 back as a builder 35 and passive house you can get 25,000 um massave also has uh per unit U
Rebates for multif family and then at the federal level there’s significant um tax credits um for for building more efficiency efficiently