Alabama Energy Code

"State Specific Zones (not REScheck™ zones)"


To find out what zone your county is in click on your state below:

 

REScheck™ was developed by Pacific Northwest National Labs (PNNL) as a fairly easy way to see if homes meet the Model Energy Code.

To find out more click here

Do You Want to Look at REScheck™ Prescriptive Packages for a zone?

If you are unsure which county is in which zone click here

Required Insulation Levels

Residential Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4
Ceiling R-30 R-30 R-30 R-30
Cathedral Ceiling R-19 R-19 R-19 R-19
Floor R-18 R-18 R-13 R-13
Crawl Space Wall R-7 R-7 R-5 R-5
Basement Wall R-6 R-6 R-5 R-4

 

Maximum Percentage Of Wall Openings

Wall Insulation for Zone 1
Residential (Zone 1) R-11 R-13 R-15 R-19 R-23
Single-Paned Wood 8.0 8.9 9.6 10.5 11.2
Double-Paned Metal 8.8 9.8 10.5 11.35 12.2
Double-Paned Metal With Thermal Break 11.2 12.4 13.3 14.6 15.5
Double-Paned Wood 14.0 15.2 16.0 18.0 19.0
Double Paned Low-e Argon Filled 23.1 23.3 24.9 27.0 30.4

 

Maximum Percentage Of Wall Openings

Wall Insulation for Zone 2
Residential (Zone 2) R-11 R-13 R-15 R-19 R-23
Single-Paned Wood 9.4 10.3 10.9 11.9 12.5
Double-Paned Metal 10.3 11.3 12.0 13.0 13.7
Double-Paned Metal With Thermal Break 12.2 13.4 14.3 16.6 17.5
Double-Paned Wood 14.8 16.2 17.3 18.7 19.7
Double Paned Low-e Argon Filled 23.5 25.5 26.0 29.0 31.3

 

Maximum Percentage Of Wall Openings

Wall Insulation for Zone 3
Residential (Zone 3) R-11 R-13 R-15 R-19 R-23
Single-Paned Wood 11.9 12.8 13.4 14.4 15.0
Double-Paned Metal 13.0 13.9 14.6 15.6 16.3
Double-Paned Metal With Thermal Break 17.4 18.6 19.5 20.8 21.6
Double-Paned Wood 20.5 21.9 22.9 24.4 25.3
Double Paned Low-e Argon Filled 34.3 35.2 36.6 38.4 40.2

 

Maximum Percentage Of Wall Openings

Wall Insulation for Zone 4
Residential (Zone 4) R-11 R-13 R-15 R-19 R-23
Single-Paned Wood 13.9 14.8 15.4 16.3 16.9
Double-Paned Metal 15.2 16.1 16.8 17.7 18.4
Double-Paned Metal With Thermal Break 20.4 21.5 22.4 23.6 24.4
Double-Paned Wood 25.1 26.4 27.4 28.8 29.4
Double Paned Low-e Argon Filled 42.5 44.2 45.5 47.1 48.2

                                                                                                                                               

For example, a home in Zone 1 with 1000 square feet of walls and 140 square feet of windows and doors has 14% wall openings. If the walls had R-13 in the framing and R-2 sheathing for a total of R-15, and windows were double-paned wood, the code allows up to 16% wall openings - this example complies.

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