Energy Conservation in Land Use Practice

In the U.S. legal system, the principal method of achieving energy efficiency in new building construction and the substantial renovation of buildings is through the energy conservation code. The basic energy code is promulgated by the International Codes Council. It has been adopted in New York and is known as the New York State Energy Conservation Construction Code. This code contains minimum standards for the design, construction, and installation of the building shell or envelope, mechanical systems, and lighting. Local governments are called on to enforce this code and are permitted to adopt additional standards to achieve greater energy efficiency.

Energy Code Enhancement

A creative example of energy code enhancement for residential buildings is found in Marin County, CA. The County adopted a straightforward method of enhancing energy performance of new single-family homes. Homes under 4000 square feet are required to exceed the energy conservation performance required by the state code by 15%. If the home is over 4000 but fewer than 5500 square feet, it must exceed the state code in efficiency by 20%. For homes between 5500 and 6500 square feet, the requirement is 30%, and large homes over 7000 square feet must be “net zero energy” users. This approach to base energy code enhancement discourages the construction of larger, more energy-consumptive buildings, or forces the purchasers of large, expensive homes to invest more in energy efficiency.

In New York, the Town of Greenburgh amended its local code to require that all new homes comply with the Energy Star rating system, promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Energy Star can achieve energy savings in excess of 30% of the base energy code. It governs appliances, heating and cooling systems, and thermal envelope, electrical, ventilation, and equipment efficiency.

The Town of Blooming Grove, NY, uses a density bonus technique to encourage developers of homes to adopt Energy Star, rather than requiring compliance. Blooming Grove awards a 10% increase in the number of homes that can be constructed under local zoning in exchange for making them all Energy Star compliant. This is an illustration of using a municipality's delegated zoning authority, the power to award zon-ng density bonuses, to supplement energy code requirements.

Local power to control land use through zoning and site plan regulations can be used, in addition, to govern matters beyond the scope of the energy code, such as building orientation, layout, or landscaping on sites, which can be used to reduce energy consump-tion in new buildings. Land-use laws can require homes in subdivisions to be clustered and designed to conserve energy.

Solar and wind generation facilities can be frustrated or facilitated by local land use law. On-site solar arrays and rooftop wind turbines can be prohibited by use, set back, and height restrictions found in traditional zoning codes. Amendments to these provisions can designate renewable energy facilities as-of-right uses, allowing them by special permit, or designating them as accessory uses.

Controlling Energy Use

Local land use boards can require developers and their design consultants to follow an integrated design process where they collaborate during the early stage of the project review process to achieve the greatest possible energy conservation and cost reduction. It is at this stage that decisions can be made about building orientation, form, self-shading, energy-efficient exterior lighting, window size and location, rooflines and extensions, reflective roofing, height-to-floor ratios, and building features that relate to passive ventilation and cooling.

Zoning can allow for a mix of uses, which can, in turn, enable developers to adopt more efficient district heating and cooling systems that greatly reduce energy consumption. Local land use laws can achieve extraordinary energy efficiency by permitting and encouraging the use of combined heat and power (CHP) systems in individual buildings and interconnected energy systems in certain mixed use districts. If we employ CHP, a mechanical system that can be used to produce electricity, heat, or both in higher density, mixed use neighborhoods, the potential for energy efficiency, and therefore energy conservation, is exponentially greater than if used on an individual parcel of land. Land use regulations can permit on-site energy generation systems in larger projects. The significant loss of energy in transmission lines from remote plants is prevented by placing generation systems on site.

Conclusion

To increase the use of district energy systems, the local land use regulatory system will need to adjust to allow, or even to incentivize, them. They must be allowable uses and practices under local zoning and site plan regulations, as well as local building and energy codes. They may be encouraged through bonus zoning provisions that waive zoning requirements or provide additional development densities for developers who adopt DES technologies.

John R. Nolon is Professor of Law and Counsel to the Land Use Law Center at Pace Law School.

The use of local authority to enforce and enhance energy codes and control land use has impressive potential to reduce energy consumption. The construction and use of buildings consumes large amounts of energy, and much of that consumption is highly inefficient. By enforcing and enhancing energy codes, encouraging the use of combined heat and power and district energy systems, properly orienting and commissioning buildings, and incorporating renewable energy resources, we can unlock local land use law's potential to achieve energy conservation.

Energy Use and Efficiency

Residential and commercial buildings use an extraordinary amount of energy and electricity. Approximately 40% of total U.S. energy consumption and 70% of all electricity consumed in this country is allocated to residential and commercial buildings. Two-thirds of the energy used to produce electricity is vented as heat that escapes into the atmosphere during generation, and up to 15%-20% of the net energy produced at these plants is lost in transmission. Perhaps the lowest hanging fruit in the orchard of energy-conserving land use techniques is to permit on-site generation, which is now technically and financially possible in many situations.

In the U.S. legal system, the principal method of achieving energy efficiency in new building construction and the substantial renovation of buildings is through the energy conservation code. The basic energy code is promulgated by the International Codes Council. It has been adopted in New York and is known as the New York State Energy Conservation Construction Code. This code contains minimum standards for the design, construction, and installation of the building shell or envelope, mechanical systems, and lighting. Local governments are called on to enforce this code and are permitted to adopt additional standards to achieve greater energy efficiency.

Energy Code Enhancement

A creative example of energy code enhancement for residential buildings is found in Marin County, CA. The County adopted a straightforward method of enhancing energy performance of new single-family homes. Homes under 4000 square feet are required to exceed the energy conservation performance required by the state code by 15%. If the home is over 4000 but fewer than 5500 square feet, it must exceed the state code in efficiency by 20%. For homes between 5500 and 6500 square feet, the requirement is 30%, and large homes over 7000 square feet must be “net zero energy” users. This approach to base energy code enhancement discourages the construction of larger, more energy-consumptive buildings, or forces the purchasers of large, expensive homes to invest more in energy efficiency.

In New York, the Town of Greenburgh amended its local code to require that all new homes comply with the Energy Star rating system, promulgated by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Energy Star can achieve energy savings in excess of 30% of the base energy code. It governs appliances, heating and cooling systems, and thermal envelope, electrical, ventilation, and equipment efficiency.

The Town of Blooming Grove, NY, uses a density bonus technique to encourage developers of homes to adopt Energy Star, rather than requiring compliance. Blooming Grove awards a 10% increase in the number of homes that can be constructed under local zoning in exchange for making them all Energy Star compliant. This is an illustration of using a municipality's delegated zoning authority, the power to award zon-ng density bonuses, to supplement energy code requirements.

Local power to control land use through zoning and site plan regulations can be used, in addition, to govern matters beyond the scope of the energy code, such as building orientation, layout, or landscaping on sites, which can be used to reduce energy consump-tion in new buildings. Land-use laws can require homes in subdivisions to be clustered and designed to conserve energy.

Solar and wind generation facilities can be frustrated or facilitated by local land use law. On-site solar arrays and rooftop wind turbines can be prohibited by use, set back, and height restrictions found in traditional zoning codes. Amendments to these provisions can designate renewable energy facilities as-of-right uses, allowing them by special permit, or designating them as accessory uses.

Controlling Energy Use

Local land use boards can require developers and their design consultants to follow an integrated design process where they collaborate during the early stage of the project review process to achieve the greatest possible energy conservation and cost reduction. It is at this stage that decisions can be made about building orientation, form, self-shading, energy-efficient exterior lighting, window size and location, rooflines and extensions, reflective roofing, height-to-floor ratios, and building features that relate to passive ventilation and cooling.

Zoning can allow for a mix of uses, which can, in turn, enable developers to adopt more efficient district heating and cooling systems that greatly reduce energy consumption. Local land use laws can achieve extraordinary energy efficiency by permitting and encouraging the use of combined heat and power (CHP) systems in individual buildings and interconnected energy systems in certain mixed use districts. If we employ CHP, a mechanical system that can be used to produce electricity, heat, or both in higher density, mixed use neighborhoods, the potential for energy efficiency, and therefore energy conservation, is exponentially greater than if used on an individual parcel of land. Land use regulations can permit on-site energy generation systems in larger projects. The significant loss of energy in transmission lines from remote plants is prevented by placing generation systems on site.

Conclusion

To increase the use of district energy systems, the local land use regulatory system will need to adjust to allow, or even to incentivize, them. They must be allowable uses and practices under local zoning and site plan regulations, as well as local building and energy codes. They may be encouraged through bonus zoning provisions that waive zoning requirements or provide additional development densities for developers who adopt DES technologies.

John R. Nolon is Professor of Law and Counsel to the Land Use Law Center at Pace Law School.