CHAPTER 116
FORMERLY
SENATE BILL NO. 114
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO COUNTY OR MUNICIPAL BUILDING, PLUMBING, ELECTRICAL AND OTHER CODES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend § 7602, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by deleting said section in its entirety and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"§ 7602. Code for energy conservation.
(a ) Except as herein noted, no county or municipal building or plumbing code shall contain any provision which shall be materially at variance with the Council of American Building Officials, Model Energy Code (MEC). 1993 Edition, jointly prepared by the Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc. (BOCA), the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO), the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCSBCS) and the Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc. (SBCCI). In effect, the Model Energy Code, 1993 Edition, shall be the referenced energy code for all new detached one and two story family dwellings and all other new residential buildings, three stories or less in height. Energy standards for all other new buildings, to include high rise residential, will be established with Chapter 7 of the 1993 MEC to reference the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers/Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (ASHRAE/IES) Standard 90.1 - 1989 or its codified version; provided, however, that the respective county or municipal government shall exclude agricultural structures, and may elect to exclude commercial structures of less than 5,000 square feet in size, from these provisions. All such codes shall require that existing non-residential and high rise residential buildings over 25,000 square feet in floor space comply with the referenced lighting standards of the ASHRAE/IES 100 series.
(b) The Division of Facilities Management in the Department of Administrative Services or its successor will promulgate procedures for certification of compliance with these codes and standards, provided, however, that:
(1) The respective local government shall have exclusive authority to designate and shall designate the effective date for compliance of lighting standards for existing buildings.
(2) In the event that the respective local government elects to require compliance with these codes and standards for a commercial building of less than 5,000 square feet in size, said local government, rather than requiring that such compliance be certified by licensed engineers or architects, as is required with commercial buildings of 5,000 square feet or more, may elect to utilize a commercial buildings ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.11989 Compliance Guide, to include computerized software compliance packages, or a locally-developed ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-1989 compliance checklist for insuring compliance."
Approved June 30, 1997