Chapter 51-11C State Building Code adoption and amendment of the 2021 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code, Commercial.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025 and chapters 19.27 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 13-04-056, § 51-11C-10000, filed 2/1/13, effective 7/1/13.]Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency.

C101.1 Title. This code shall be known as the Washington State Energy Code, and shall be cited as such. It is referred to herein as "this code."The 2021 edition of the Washington State Energy Code is hereby adopted. The Washington State Energy Code adopted under chapter 51-11C WA…

C101.4 Applicability. Where, in any specific case, different sections of this code specify different materials, methods of construction or other requirements, the most restrictive shall govern. Where there is a conflict between a general requirement and a specific requirement, th…

[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.025, 19.27A.160, and 19.27.074. WSR 16-03-072, § 51-11C-10143, filed 1/19/16, effective 7/1/16. Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.025, 19.27A.045, and 19.27.074. WSR 13-20-120, § 51-11C-10143, filed 10/1/13, effective 11/1/13. Statutory Authority: R…

C101.5 Compliance.Residential buildings shall meet the provisions of WSEC—Residential Provisions. Commercial buildings shall meet the provisions of WSEC—Commercial Provisions.C101.5.1 Compliance materials. The code official shall be permitted to approve specific computer software…

C102.1 General. The provisions of this code are not intended to prevent the installation of any material, or to prohibit any design or method of construction not specifically prescribed by this code, provided that any such alternative has been approved. The code official shall ha…

C103.1 General. Construction documents and other supporting data shall be submitted in one or more sets, or in a digital format where allowed by the building official, with each application for a permit. The construction documents shall be prepared by a registered design professi…

C104.1 Fees. A permit shall not be issued until the fees prescribed in Section C104.2 have been paid, nor shall an amendment to a permit be released until the additional fee, if any, has been paid.C104.2 Schedule of permit fees. A fee for each permit shall be paid as required, in…

C105.1 General. Construction or work for which a permit is required shall be subject to inspection by the code official, his or her designated agent, or an approved agency, and such construction or work shall remain visible and able to be accessed for inspection purposes until ap…

C106.1 Approval. After the prescribed tests and inspections indicate that the work complies in all respects with this code, a notice of approval shall be issued by the code official.C106.2 Revocation. The code official is authorized to, in writing, suspend or revoke a notice of a…

C107.1 General. If a portion of this code is held to be illegal or void, such a decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this code.[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025, 19.27A.160 and chapters 19.27A and 19.27 RCW. WSR 22-14-091, 23-12-101, and 23-20…

C108.1 Referenced codes and standards. The codes and standards referenced in this code shall be those listed in Chapter 6, and such codes and standards shall be considered as part of the requirements of this code to the prescribed extent of each such reference and as further regu…

C109.1 Authority. Whenever the code official finds any work regulated by this code being performed in a manner either contrary to the provisions of this code or dangerous or unsafe, the code official is authorized to issue a stop work order.C109.2 Issuance. The stop work order sh…

C110.1 General. In order to hear and decide appeals of orders, decisions or determinations made by the code official relative to the application and interpretation of this code, there shall be and is hereby created a board of appeals. The code official shall be an ex officio memb…

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to erect or construct any building, or remodel or rehabilitate any existing building or structure in the state, or allow the same to be done, contrary to or in violation of any of the provisions of this code.[Statutory Aut…

Nothing contained in this code is intended to be nor shall be construed to create or form the basis for any liability on the part of any city or county or its officers, employees, or agents for any injury or damage resulting from the failure of a building to conform to the provis…

[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025 and chapters 19.27 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 13-04-056, § 51-11C-20000, filed 2/1/13, effective 7/1/13.]Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency.

C201.1 Scope. Unless stated otherwise, the following words and terms in this code shall have the meanings indicated in this chapter.C201.2 Interchangeability. Words used in the present tense include the future; words in the masculine gender include the feminine and neuter; the si…

[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025 and chapters 19.27 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 13-04-056, § 51-11C-20200, filed 2/1/13, effective 7/1/13.]

ABOVE-GRADE WALL. That portion of a wall in the building envelope that is not a below-grade wall. This includes between-floor spandrels, peripheral edges of floors, roof knee walls, dormer walls, gable end walls, walls enclosing a mansard roof and skylight shafts.ACCESS (TO). Tha…

BELOW-GRADE WALL. That portion of a wall in the building envelope that is entirely below the finish grade and in contact with the ground.BIOGAS. A mixture of hydrocarbons that is a gas at 60°F (15.5°C) and one atmosphere of pressure that is produced through the anaerobic digestio…

C-FACTOR (THERMAL CONDUCTANCE). The coefficient of heat transmission (surface to surface) through a building component or assembly, equal to the time rate of heat flow per unit area and the unit temperature difference between the warm side and cold side surfaces (Btu/h ft2 × °F) …

DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM. An electronic system managed by the building owner to collect, tabulate and display metering information.DATA CENTER. A room or series of rooms that share data center systems whose primary function is to house equipment for the processing and storage of e…

ECONOMIZER, AIR. A duct and damper arrangement and automatic control system that allows a cooling system to supply outside air to reduce or eliminate the need for mechanical cooling during mild or cold weather.ECONOMIZER, WATER. A system where the supply air of a cooling system i…

FAN, EMBEDDED. A fan that is part of a manufactured assembly where the assembly includes functions other than air movement.FAN ARRAY. Multiple fans in parallel between two plenum sections in an air distribution system.FAN BRAKE HORSEPOWER (BHP). The horsepower delivered to the fa…

GENERAL LIGHTING. Interior lighting that provides a substantially uniform level of illumination throughout a space. General lighting shall not include lighting that provides a dissimilar level of illumination to serve a specific application or decorative feature within such area.…

HEAT TRAP. An arrangement of piping and fittings, such as elbows, or a commercially available heat trap that prevents thermosyphoning of hot water during standby periods.HEAT TRAP, PIPE CONFIGURED. A pipe configured heat trap is either, as applicable:1. A device specifically desi…

IEC DESIGN H MOTOR. An electric motor that meets all of the following:1. It is an induction motor designed for use with three-phase power.2. It contains a cage rotor.3. It is capable of direct-on-line starting.4. It has 4, 6 or 8 poles.5. It is rated from 0.4 kW to 1600 kW at a f…

[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025 and chapters 19.27 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 13-04-056, § 51-11C-20210, filed 2/1/13, effective 7/1/13.]

[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025 and chapters 19.27 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 13-04-056, § 51-11C-20211, filed 2/1/13, effective 7/1/13.]

LABELED. Equipment, materials or products to which have been affixed a label, seal, symbol or other identifying mark of a nationally recognized testing laboratory, approvedagency or other organization concerned with product evaluation that maintains periodic inspection of the pro…

MANUAL. Capable of being operated by personal intervention (see "Automatic").MASS TRANSFER DECK SLAB. A concrete slab designed to transfer structural load from the building perimeter wall or column line above, laterally to an offset wall or column line below, and which has condit…

NAMEPLATE HORSEPOWER. The nominal motor output power rating stamped on the motor nameplate.NEMA DESIGN A MOTOR. A squirrel-cage motor that meets all of the following:1. It is designed to withstand full-voltage starting and developing locked-rotor torque as shown in paragraph 12.3…

OCCUPANT SENSOR CONTROL. An automatic control device or system that detects the presence or absence of people within an area and causes lighting, equipment or appliances to be regulated accordingly.ON-SITE RENEWABLE ENERGY. Energy from renewable energy resources harvested at the …

PERSONAL WIRELESS SERVICE FACILITY. A wireless communication facility (WCF), including a microcell, which is a facility for the transmission and/or reception of radio frequency signals and which may include antennas, equipment shelter or cabinet, transmission cables, a support st…

[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025 and chapters 19.27 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 13-04-056, § 51-11C-20217, filed 2/1/13, effective 7/1/13.]

RADIANT HEATING SYSTEM. A heating system that transfers heat to objects and surfaces within a conditioned space, primarily by infrared radiation.READY ACCESS (TO). That which enables a device, appliance or equipment to be directly reached, without requiring the removal or movemen…

SATURATED-CONDENSING TEMPERATURE. The saturation temperature corresponding to the measured refrigerant pressure at the condenser inlet for single component and azeotropic refrigerants, and the arithmetic average of the dew point and bubble point temperatures corresponding to the …

TEMPERATURE MAINTENANCE. The system used to maintain the temperature of the building service hot water delivery system, typically by circulation and reheating or by a heat trace system.TEMPORARY GROWING STRUCTURE. A temporary growing structure has sides and roof covered with poly…

U-FACTOR (THERMAL TRANSMITTANCE). The coefficient of heat transmission (air to air) through a building component or assembly, equal to the time rate of heat flow per unit area and unit temperature difference between the warm side and cold side air films (Btu/h • ft2 • °F) [W/(m2 …

VARIABLE REFRIGERANT FLOW SYSTEM. An engineered direct-expansion (DX) refrigerant system that incorporates a common condensing unit, at least one variable capacity compressor, a distributed refrigerant piping network to multiple indoor fan heating and cooling units each capable o…

WALK-IN COOLER. An enclosed storage space capable of being refrigerated to temperatures above 32°F (0°C) and less than 55°F (12.8°C) that can be walked into, has a ceiling height of not less than 7 feet (2134 mm) and has a total chilled storage area of less than 3,000 square feet…

ZONE. A space or group of spaces within a building with heating or cooling requirements that are sufficiently similar so that desired conditions can be maintained throughout using a single controlling device.[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025 and chapters 19.27 and …

[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025 and chapters 19.27 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 13-04-056, § 51-11C-30000, filed 2/1/13, effective 7/1/13.]Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency.

C301.1 General. Climate zones from Table C301.1 shall be used in determining the applicable requirements from Chapter 4.Table C301.1Climate Zones and Moisture RegimesDesignations by State and CountyKey: A - Moist, B - Dry, C - Marine. Absence of moisture designation indicates moi…

C302.1 Interior design conditions. The interior design temperatures used for heating and cooling load calculations shall be a maximum of 72°F (22°C) for heating and minimum of 75°F (24°C) for cooling.C302.2 Exterior design conditions. The heating or cooling outdoor design tempera…

[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025 and chapters 19.27 and 34.05 RCW. WSR 13-04-056, § 51-11C-30300, filed 2/1/13, effective 7/1/13.]

C303.1 Identification. Materials, systems and equipment shall be identified in a manner that will allow a determination of compliance with the applicable provisions of this code.C303.1.1 Building thermal envelope insulation. An R-value identification mark shall be applied by the …

Table C303.1.3(1)Default Glazed Window, Glass Door and Skylight U-Factors Window and Glass Door FRAME TYPESINGLE PANEDOUBLE PANESKY-LIGHTMetal1.200.80 Metal with Thermal Break1.100.65See TableC303.1.3(4)Nonmetal or Metal Clad0.950.55 Glazed Block0.60[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.2…

Table C303.1.3(2)Default Opaque Door U-FactorsSee Appendix A, Section A107[Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025, 19.27A.160 and chapter 19.27 RCW. WSR 19-24-040, § 51-11C-303132, filed 11/26/19, effective 7/1/20. Statutory Authority: RCW 19.27A.020, 19.27A.025 and chap…