This Week's Codes and Standards, January 29

Automated Tool Assists in Design of Force Transfer Around Openings

A new automated tool provides assistance in the design of force transfer around openings (FTAO). The Engineered Wood Association developed the free tool that includes a calculator and Technical Note. The FTAO method of shear wall design provides structures with a more comprehensive lateral resistance design which otherwise omitted the sheathing around windows or other large openings, according to a news release by the association.
 
“The FTAO method used to be considered cumbersome and somewhat undefinable due to the lack of specificity in the design code,” said Jared S. Hensley, P.E., APA Engineered Wood Specialist. “Now we have a new tool that simplifies the structural design process and makes the FTAO method more approachable and more precise.”
 
The APA FTAO Calculator provides the required hold-down forces, tension strap forces, and wall sheathing capacity, and automatically completes the design check in the final step. It also provides shear wall deflection calculations for the 3- and 4-term deflection equation options.

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California is the First State to Phase Out Incandescent Light Bulbs

California made the incandescent light bulb history on Jan. 1. As of that date, the state’s energy efficiency standards for the everyday screw-based light bulb became too stringent for the old technology to meet. By 2020, the standard will extend to the rest of the nation, signaling the end of the incandescent era.
 
There are an estimated 250 million light sockets in California still containing inefficient bulbs. After all of these sockets switch over to a more efficient alternative – CFLs or LEDs– California consumers and businesses will save an estimated $1 billion every year on electric bills.
 
Bulbs manufactured on or after January 1, 2018, and offered for sale in California must achieve a minimum efficiency level of 45 lumens per watt—three times more efficient than incandescents. The LED bulb that replaces the 60-watt incandescent bulb only uses 10 watts of power to deliver the same amount of light.

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Renewable Energy Law Prompts New Solar Rebate Program

North Carolina’s new renewable energy law that took effect Jan. 1 requires a new solar rebate program for homeowners and small businesses. As a result, Duke Energy has launched such a program that it says could triple the number of customers that have solar panels on their roofs in the state over the next five years.
 
About 6,000 customers currently have solar panels on their roofs in North Carolina, the utility says. A Duke spokesman said the company believes most of the new solar customers will be residential. Duke proposes a rebate of 60 cents per watt of generating capacity for a typical household solar installation, or up to $6,000. Small businesses with larger solar arrays could get more.

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New Roofing Manual Covering Architectural Metal Flashing and Condensation and Air Leakage is Available

The National Roofing Contractors Association’s Roofing Manual: Architectural Metal Flashing and Condensation and Air Leakage Control—2018 is now available. The document provides information about the design, materials and installation techniques applicable to architectural sheet-metal components.
 
It also includes background information regarding moisture and air leakage issues in buildings, such as ventilation for steep-slope roof assemblies and condensation control for low-slope roof systems. The publication contains 60 construction details.

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FHA Stops Insuring New Mortgages on Homes with PACE Loans

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently announced that it will stop insuring new mortgages on homes with property assessed clean energy (PACE) loans. The FHA is “concerned with the lack of consumer protections associated with the origination of the PACE assessment, which are far less comprehensive than that of traditional mortgage financing products.”
 
This announcement directly contradicts guidance issued by the FHA in 2016, according to a blog post by the Rocky Mountain Institute. The post says that the FHA has overstated the risk of PACE to taxpayers and that the action will inhibit homeowners from making valuable home improvements.

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