Air Curtains Now a Vestibule Alternative in the International Green Construction Code
Long awaited code allowance offers retailers and commercial building owners increased energy savings and reduced construction costs.
The addition of air curtains in the International Green Construction Code (IgCC)--the new comprehensive high performance green building code--promises energy and construction cost savings for commercial, industrial and institutional buildings.
Specifying air curtains as energy-saving, cost-cutting alternatives to vestibules in 3,000-square-foot buildings and larger has been a recent trend among consulting engineers and architects. However, many times specifications are blocked by local jurisdictions that have adopted the International Energy Construction Code (IECC), which doesn't yet sight air curtains as vestibule alternatives.
Thus, the newly-enacted IgCC, which is scheduled for March 2012 publishing, now provides an approved overlay of green construction products to the base code IECC, which is overseen by the International Code Council (ICC), the Washington-based organization responsible for providing minimum safety, sustainability and affordability building codes and standards.
