Final Affordability Determination-Energy Efficiency Standards

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have determined that adoption of the 2009 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for single family homes and the 2007 edition of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 90.1 for multifamily buildings will not negatively affect the affordability and availability of certain HUD- and USDA-assisted housing specified in section 481 of the Energy and Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). This determination fulfills a statutory requirement established under EISA that HUD and USDA adopt revisions to the 2006 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2004 subject to: A determination that the revised codes do not negatively affect the availability or affordability of new construction of single family and multifamily housing covered by EISA; and a determination by the Secretary of Energy that the revised codes "would improve energy efficiency." For the more recent IECC and ASHRAE codes that have been published since the publication of the 2009 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2007, HUD and USDA intend to follow this Notice of Final Determination with an advance notice that addresses the next steps the agencies plan to take on the 2015 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2013 codes.