Building Electrification

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On June 20, 2023, the Village of Oak Park's Board of Trustees adopted an all-electric new construction ordinance as part of the building code. According to the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA), this makes Oak Park the first municipality in Illinois, and all of the Midwest, to pass an electrification ordinance. The new ordinance, which only impacts newly constructed buildings at this time, will go into effect on January 1, 2024.

Electrification is one steps identified as necessary to achieve community-wide net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as set forth in the Climate Ready Oak Park plan adopted in 2022.


On June 20, 2023, the Village of Oak Park's Board of Trustees adopted an all-electric new construction ordinance as part of the building code. According to the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA), this makes Oak Park the first municipality in Illinois, and all of the Midwest, to pass an electrification ordinance. The new ordinance, which only impacts newly constructed buildings at this time, will go into effect on January 1, 2024.

Electrification is one steps identified as necessary to achieve community-wide net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 as set forth in the Climate Ready Oak Park plan adopted in 2022.

Questions

Do you have a question about the new electrification ordinance? Please submit it here and member of the Village staff will respond as soon as possible.

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    Following up on Tom's question below. We know that once a house hits a renovation threshold of 50.1% the existing building code amendments require fire sprinklers similar to if the house was new construction. Wondering if there would / could be reason to have the new electrification codes to apply in the same manner? Otherwise the new code will only go so far.

    DB asked 2 months ago

    Thanks for your question and feedback. At this time this electrification code only applies to entirely new structures, not gut jobs, interior alterations, or remodels, etc. For further discussion of the electrification ordinance, you are welcome to contact Chief Building Official Steve Cutaia at scutaia@oak-park.us.

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    I am grateful for Oak Park's leadership on the electrification ordinance for construction. Is there a plan in place to electrify the city's car fleet? Police & public works vehicles would be the best candidates. It is understandable that Fire and Ambulance is still a long ways away as those are specialty vehicles.

    kfroche2 asked 3 months ago

    Thanks for your feedback and your question. The Village employs 17 all-electric sedans as part its fleet of vehicles used by employees who must drive around Oak Park on official duty as part of the normal work day. Plans are in place to continue to purcase electric vehicles to replace vehicles that have reached the end of their lifespan. The Village also employs dozens of other hybrid vehicles, and most of its heavy-duty equipment such as fire trucks and snow plows run on B20 fuel, a lower-emission diesel fuel made in part from agriculture waste products.

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    Does this mean the HVAC furnace, Clothes Dryer, Stove, and Hot Water Tank must all be electric and use no gas?

    Tango asked 2 months ago

    Thank you for reaching out. For only entirely new buildings, yes, they must be all electric and use no gas. 

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    Will the new codes only apply to new building construction or will they also impact remodeling of existing homes?

    Tom asked 3 months ago

    Thank you for the question, Tom. The new electrification codes only apply to new building construction. The newly adopted published international codes apply to all types of construction (new and/or remodeling). For further information or clarification, please e-mail Chief Building Official Steve Cutaia at scutaia@oak-park.us.

Page last updated: 02 Oct 2023, 11:09 AM