MINNESOTA
CURRENT CODE
Residential:
Minnesota State Building
Code, chapter 1322 based
on the 2006 IRC.
Commercial:
Minnesota State Building
Code, chapter 1323 based
on ASHRAE 90.1-2004
DEMOGRAPHICS
Population: 5,220,393
Total Housing Units:
2,132,632
ENERGY
CONSUMPTION
Residential Sector:
391.7 Trillion BTU
Commercial Sector:
347.1 Trillion BTU
68% of the state’s natural gas
supply is used for heating the
home.
Natural gas is the largest con-
sumed source of energy for the
state’s residential sector.
Residential use of natural gas
in Minnesota costs up to
$8.26/thousand cu ft.
CODE CHANGE CYCLE
No set schedule
BCAP 1850 M St. NW Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20036 | www.bcap-energy.org
Minnesota will receive $54 Million from the federal gov-
ernment if the state adopts the latest energy codes:
IECC 2009 (International Energy Conservation
Code)
ASHRAE 90.1 2007 (American Society of Heating
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers)
Accumulated residential sector savings, 2009 to 2030,
would be:
13.8 trillion Btu of energy
894 thousand metric tons of CO2 (Equivalent to an-
nual greenhouse gases for 163,736 passenger vehicles)
$112 million
$112 million would more than pay the full under-
graduate tuition of current students at private univer-
sities in Minnesota.
FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES:
In February 2009 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated $3.1 billion for
U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program (SEP) to assist states with building
energy efficiency efforts. As one of the requirements to receive SEP grants, state governors
must certify to DOE that their state will implement energy codes of equal or greater strin-
gency than the latest national model codes (currently IECC 2009 and Standard 90.1-2007).
Thus, it is in the state’s best economic interests to adopt these standards statewide and be-
gin enjoying the benefits of an efficient building sector.
CODE ADOPTION AND CHANGE PROCESS: Regulatory: Authority for adopting the
state energy codes has been given to the Department of Labor & Industry. The state's Ad-
ministrative Procedures Act provides for a minimum update process of 18 months. Its pro-
cedures require a formal public hearing only if requested by 25 or more individuals. The
Building Codes and Standards Division delivers an executive summary of the proposed
rule changes to the office of the Governor. After the Governor and State Reviser's Office
approve the rule changes, a Notice of Adoption is published in the state register.
For more information please consult the Building Codes Assistance Project (www.bcap-energy.org)
or Nick Zigelbaum (nzigelbaum@nrdc.org)
BCAP