01/22/2024
I dont care which side of this issue you believe you are on; facts are facts, and they should be heeded: Our 2021 Washington State Energy Code is completely broken, cannot be fixed through the "normal" means, and needs to be scrapped in favor of keeping the 2018 WSEC in place. The greatest problem with the new code is that it would requires us by law to spew even more carbon into the atmosphere over the course of the construction of a new residence, even a Zero-Energy Residence, than that residence could possibly save through the resulting energy efficiency over the next thirty years. Much of the added (required) carbon would have to do with the additional insulation requirements, which would take more than 200 years to offset with operational energy savings over time. Two fundamental problems with this:
1. Most homes do not even last 200 years, and even those that do get remodeled from time-to-time, often requiring removal and disposal of much of the original insulation, and:
2. It is one of the stated goals of the State of Washington (and others) and the US Department of Energy to transition the entire electrical grid over to clean (and renewable) sources of energy, such as Wind, Solar, Hydro, and Nuclear. If this happens over the course of the next 30 years, then any added carbon expended in the construction of the new home that would not be otherwise offset by operational savings during that 30-year period would effectively be "stranded", and would never achieve it's objective of a net reduction of carbon in the atmosphere. If it takes 50 years to achieve this 100% clean or renewable grid, then extra carbon emissions requiring more the 50 years to "pay for itself" would be stranded. This list includes 100% of the required changes to the WESC.
I am calling for a Court Injunction to prevent the 2021 WSEC from taking effect, based on the stated goals of the Wasshington State Legislature as they pretain to the Energy Code. In short, this 2021 WSEC is a clear violation of the law, and needs to be prevented from taking effect. Please comment below, and keep it civil!
