New Hampshire is poised to update its building codes, the laws meant to keep homes and commercial buildings safe and comfortable.
But in the bill approaching Gov. Chris Sununu’s desk, the code that regulates the energy efficiency of new homes is set to stay at the 2018 version.
The energy conservation code has been the subject of a long-running debate in New Hampshire, intersecting with some of the state’s thorniest issues: the affordability of homes, the livability of our climate, and the cost of living.
Proponents of adopting the 2021 energy conservation code highlight that more efficient homes would help people reduce energy use, lowering monthly bills and reducing the climate-warming pollution that homes produce.
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Federal agencies that insure mortgages adopted the codes after making the assessment that they won’t impact the affordability and availability of the housing they cover. Some studies have shown that households save money in more energy efficient homes, though updates do have an increased upfront cost.
The codes have faced strong opposition, particularly from New Hampshire’s chapter of the Home Builders Association. In keeping with years of work pushing back on energy efficiency efforts, that group has come out in force against the 2021 codes across the country.
In New Hampshire, the Home Builders Association has testified to lawmakers that the 2021 codes would raise the cost of building homes too much, arguing they would make new homes unaffordable. The numbers they cite, from a survey of a handful of builders in the state, are about five times higher than federal estimates of the cost of upgrades.
All told, the 2021 codes would make homes almost 10% more efficient than the previous codes from 2018. The past two model codes adopted by the International Code Council barely made efficiency improvements for residential buildings.
What the 2021 codes would do
The 2021 codes require efficiency improvements like more insulation and expanded testing for how much air leaks out of a building.
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It could also improve the barriers that keep moisture out during the summer and in during the winter, said Paul Bemis, president of the state’s chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
“An environment like New Hampshire varies quite dramatically,” he said. “Having a proper vapor barrier is key to indoor and human health.”
Lighting systems and their controls face new requirements, too.
Bemis is a proponent of the 2021 energy codes. He says the updates there are important to improving the indoor environment, since people spend 90% of their time indoors.
Federal officials have said the codes could help lower asthma rates and respiratory symptoms.
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More efficient buildings also put less strain on the energy grid and draw less power from fossil fuels.
Buildings are responsible for about 40% of energy use in the United States, and account for around 35% of the carbon dioxide emissions that fuel warmer and wetter conditions in New Hampshire.
The 2021 codes, if implemented in New Hampshire, would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 660,000 metric tons over 30 years, according to a reportfrom the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy.
That’s the equivalent of taking about 157,000 cars off the road, or almost as much of an emissions reduction as closing two gas-fired power plants.
“Climate change is upon us. We need to do something to try to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere in the building sector,” Bemis said. “It’s a big task. It’s going to take many years to do it. But we need to start somewhere.”
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The cost of the codes
When it comes to cost, there’s agreement on one thing: making homes more energy efficient costs money.
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s study estimates the increase in the cost to build a home to the 2021 energy conservation code instead of the 2015 energy conservation code is around $4,000 for a single family home in New Hampshire. (New Hampshire currently uses the 2018 version of the code).
For multi-family apartment or condo buildings, the increased cost of construction would be between about $1,200 and $1,700 per unit.
The cost varies based on the design of the building and the part of the state it is in, with communities in colder areas facing higher costs.
The study says the average person in the state would pay about $400 more in down payments and other up-front costs and would have an annual mortgage increase of about $140.
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Compared to the 2015 energy conservation code, the 2021 code would save a homeowner a bit more than $500 a year on energy bills, according to the study, leading to positive savings by the second year of homeownership.
About $2.5 million in federal money is available to New Hampshire to help train building professionals on the implementation of the new codes, money the state will forgo if it does not update its standards.
But in testimony in front of state lawmakers, Matt Mayberry, the head of the New Hampshire Home Builders Association, estimated the upfront costs of building a home to the 2021 standards would be much higher, around $20,000.
“Housing is the number one issue facing the state of New Hampshire,” Mayberry said. “Everyone is touched by this. By staying with the 2018 energy codes, that produces energy efficient homes at affordable prices that people can maintain and can afford to stay in.”
Mayberry said he came to the $20,000 estimate by asking six home builders in the state how much they thought the new codes would cost to implement.
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“You’re weaponizing these codes for societal agendas and political agendas, and that’s wrong,” he said. “We think you can decide the home you want to live in.”
Home builders would build homes to more energy efficient standards if customers want them, Mayberry said. But, he said, the association believes that should be up to individuals.
New Hampshire’s consumer advocate, Don Kreis, has expressed his support for the codes and their ability to save people money. In a column on his website, he notes the Home Builders Association supported a law that reinstated energy efficiency programs through the state’s utilities in 2022.
“New Hampshire’s home builders – or, at least, their trade association – are perfectly happy to champion energy efficiency (and make some money installing energy efficiency measures) when the costs are buried in people’s utility bills,” Kreis wrote. “They grow less enthusiastic when they have to reflect those costs directly in the prices they charge buyers of new homes.”
Ripple effects
Many of New Hampshire’s multi-family affordable housing buildings are already built to higher energy efficiency standards than the 2021 codes, said Ron Dapice, the head of New Hampshire Housing.
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That organization helps first-time homebuyers with financing and works with developers to create affordable apartment buildings. Dapice hasn’t taken a position on what codes New Hampshire should adopt. But, he said, the state’s minimum standards don’t necessarily affect what kinds of affordable housing is being built.
“Most of these properties already exceed code requirements. Most of them are built to Energy Star standards. And the owners and contractors, I think, see the value long-term for affordable housing and keeping their operating costs as low as possible,” he said.
Dapice said the upfront cost of building more efficient buildings wouldn’t be borne by lower-income renters. Property managers set rents based on income, and Dapice said construction costs wouldn’t raise the gross rent – rent plus utilities – for folks living in those buildings. Landlords might pay for the utilities themselves, and raise the base rent instead.
If New Hampshire does not adopt the 2021 codes, the state will have different minimum standards than those adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Agriculture and the Veterans Administration.
The largest portion of homes affected by this change is likely to be those insured by the Federal Housing Administration. But the standards only apply to new construction, and Dapice said new construction homes are less likely to be purchased using FHA or USDA backed loans.
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“It may not be an everyday occurrence if that type of buyer would be shut out of their financing options,” he said.
But if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were to adopt the 2021 codes, homeowners using conventional loans would also be subject to the new requirements.
“Then I think you could have a situation where buyers are, they want just a conventional loan and they can’t get it because their house isn’t built to the newest energy code,” Dapice said.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says they are considering ways to support more energy efficiency and have been conducting outreach.
That agency has come under pressure from New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen to adopt the 2021 energy conservation code. In a letter earlier this year, she said those standards would improve health, reduce wasted energy and lower costs.
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“Energy efficiency is the cheapest, fastest way to deal with our energy needs,” Shaheen said in an interview earlier this year. “If we’re going to address our long term energy needs, thinking about how we make those buildings more efficient is really important.”
Every other week on NHPR, we like to highlight a local non-profit that’s providing a great service for the Granite State. On this week’s episode of Give Back New Hampshire, our focus is on Assistance Canine Training Services.
Founded in 2007, Assistance Canine Training Services trains service dogs for people with mobility disabilities and facility dogs for professionals using animal assisted therapy.
Assistance Canine Training Services
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Assistance Canine Training Services
One of the dogs trained by Assistance Canine Training Services.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Kathy Metz: I’m Kathy Metz, director of operations here at Assistance Canine Training Services.
Kelly Brown: I’m Kelly Brown. I hold the role of executive director of Assistance Canine Training Services, but I’m also a volunteer puppy raiser and a client. I have one of our facility dogs.
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Kathy Metz: Our mission is to raise, train and place service and facility dogs. So our service dogs are for mobility, people who have challenges walking, many of whom are in wheelchairs or use scooters. And also our facility dogs go with professionals who utilize them in animal assisted therapy – teachers, therapists, occupational therapists, counselors, anyone who can utilize a dog in a therapeutic way for their patients or those they serve.
Kelly Brown: I speak more to the facility dog front. Our service dogs are wonderful and they work with one person. They provide a service or multiple services for a person in need. The facility dogs are just a little bit different in that they work with an able bodied human being. We have several dogs at different hospitals, people who are going through cancer treatments. They go in for their cancer treatment and there’s a dog there just to provide comfort and support while they’re there. As a schoolteacher, I have one in my general education classroom, and the dog is there all the time. He’s there every day.
Kathy Metz: Most of our puppies come to us at eight weeks old. Whether they come from a breeder or another organization, starting from the time they’re born, they get what we call enrichment, constant handling, constant exposure to different stimulus, different sounds, everything that get them comfortable with their world and make sure that they’re ready to start working and start training.
Connie: Hi, my name is Connie and my husband, Mike and I are volunteers with the ACTS organization here locally, and we have raised one of the dogs for the organization. His name is Hickory. We had him a total of about two and a half years. So Hickory is no longer with us. He’s been placed. And so now we help out as an auntie and uncle.
Mike: Hickory was our first dog when we moved up here from Pennsylvania a couple of years ago. We saw in the newspaper that ACTS had a nice article, and they were looking for puppy raisers and said, yeah, maybe we might make good puppy raisers. From my perspective, the most rewarding part is knowing what the dog is doing for an individual.
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Connie: It’s a lot of fun to raise the dogs. A lot of people ask us, isn’t it difficult to let the dog go, especially when you’ve had them for a couple of years? And it is. And we went into this realizing that we had a job to do. And in our case, Hickory had a job to do. And I say if we both did our job correctly or all three of us, then the magic happens. And that’s exactly what happened with Hickory.
Robin Crocker: I’m Robin Crocker, I’m board chair, and I’m formerly the director of canine development, retired from that position. I still do a lot of work advising and working with training of the dogs. The people who work with the dogs are so dedicated, and the clients are so amazing, and the work that the dogs do with the client is just heartwarming. And I can’t step away. I just keep coming back.
PIERMONT, N.H. (WHDH) – A 58-year-old man died Friday after the canoe he was in capsized on Lake Tarleton in Piermont, N.H., police said.
At around 9:28 a.m., police responded to a reported drowning at the lake, according to the New Hampshire State Police. Two men were fishing on Lake Tarleton when their canoe capsized and they both fell into the water, police said.
While trying to stay afloat and gather their lost fishing gear, one man noticed the other was face down in the water, police said. He called for nearby witnesses to help, and they responded by boat.
Emergency crews attempted to revive the man who was unresponsive, but he was pronounced dead, police said. He was identified as Michael A. Johnson of Bedford, N.H.
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The men were not wearing lifejackets at the time, although they had them in the canoe with them, police said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact State Police Marine Patrol Sergeant Seth Alie at 603-227-2117 or Seth.P.Alie@DOS.NH.gov.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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When you think of natural surroundings in New Hampshire the first thing that may come to mind are the state’s beautiful forests. While these are certainly stunning (they are where I spend much of my time), there are also bits of nature tucked away in places that you might not expect. One of them is this exquisite garden restaurant in New Hampshire where you can dine in a most beautiful natural setting.
Mile Away Restaurant in Milford has been welcoming guests for over half a century. Originally a farm built in 1746, it was one of the first settlements in the “lost” town of Monson.
The farm was converted into a restaurant in 1967 and was subsequently purchased by the Murphy family, who still manage it today.
Owner Joshua Murphy, Executive Chef Mark Worcester, and General Manager Kyle Altman welcome all to this historic destination where the spirit of 18th-century hospitality continues.
Mile Away offers a classic European four-course menu consisting of an appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert.
Guests to the restaurant’s outdoor dining space, The Patio, can roam the three acres of gardens and partake in games of cornhole and horseshoes.
The Patio is open to the public and features a seated bar, a standing bar under awnings, and patio tables with umbrellas. It’s a great spot to enjoy a drink before your reservation.
The gardens are a relaxing space to study the plants and flowers and perhaps watch the local pollinators in action.
The Mile Away grounds can also be reserved for weddings and other special events such as birthdays, graduations, or business functions.
To learn more about this charming garden restaurant in New Hampshire, to make a reservation, or to book an event, visit the Mile Away Restaurant website. Also, be sure to keep up with Mile Away Restaurant on Facebook for all of the latest updates.
Perhaps waterfront dining is more to your liking? Check out these nine waterfront eateries where you can dine on a lake, stream, or the ocean!
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9 Incredible Waterfront Restaurants in New Hampshire That Everyone Must Visit
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Mile Away Restaurant & Tented Venue, 52 Federal Hill Rd, Milford, NH 03055, USA