Energy Codes and Standards
In states that have adopted building codes, new construction must meet minimum standards.
Energy codes and standards set minimum required performance levels for new buildings, appliances, lighting, and other energy-using equipment. Products must meet these requirements to be sold in the state or country that has adopted the codes and standards. Requiring that new buildings and equipment meet energy efficiency requirements is key to gradual but significant improvements in energy performance.
Energy codes and standards can be especially important when consumers are making major purchases and are prone to focus on aspects of their purchase other than energy use — new homes and new appliances are prime examples. Codes and standards provide a minimum level of energy performance to ensure that regardless of market forces, all products meet a reasonable level of energy efficiency.
In general, building energy codes and standards for the residential and commercial sectors are developed at the national level, implemented at the state and local levels, and enforced by local governments. Some states and communities also strengthen the minimum national energy codes and standards to increase the energy performance of buildings in their states.
Most states have energy efficiency standards in their regulations that give many of the nation's 44,000 local governments the authority to enforce the standards. However, finding the resources and political will to enforce them can be difficult. Some states and communities do not enforce a minimum mandatory energy code and rely instead on voluntary programs to achieve their energy efficiency goals.
Raising energy efficiency standards is sometimes thought to increase costs for the consumer and builder. In fact, however, energy codes can help minimize inefficient construction practices and technologies with little or no increase in total project costs. Most codes include a performance path, allowing builders flexibility to achieve energy savings in the most cost-effective manner.
Adopting and enforcing minimum levels of energy efficiency for commercial and/or residential buildings may save society billions of dollars. It can also result in more durable and disaster-resistant construction. Commercial building owners and occupants benefit from increased comfort, greater worker productivity and decreased absenteeism, improved air quality, and lower maintenance costs. The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) estimates the value of health and productivity improvements alone to be as much as $170 billion per year.
Typically, local jurisdictions are responsibility for enforcing compliance. Building inspectors review new construction for compliance with energy codes while inspecting other construction requirements.
Sometimes states adopt requirements that are more stringent than the national codes. In these cases, states require that buildings perform some specified level better than standard codes, or they adopt a metric from a voluntary rating system. Occasionally, states also remove certain code provisions that are not cost effective or otherwise defensible in their region.
Implementation of these codes and standards is more difficult than simply adopting the rules. Surveys over the years indicate that mandatory energy codes often are ignored because they are too complex and difficult to understand. With respect to residential and commercial construction, both the National Science Foundation and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have observed that most states do not possess the necessary resources to enforce the minimum energy code, much less be responsible for energy efficiency improvements above the code. In some states, less than one full-time-equivalent employee is dedicated to enforcing the energy code.
In addition, each time the codes are updated it takes years before the upgrades are adopted by states and before the full knowledge of those changes reaches the enforcement officials.
Arguments for Energy Codes and Standards
Updating energy standards is a cost-effective policy option for states; each dollar spent on increased efficiency pays back many times to the consumer and the economy.
Roughly one-third of U.S. energy is consumed in buildings, so this is an important sector to address.
Technologies are available to construct new buildings that use 30%-70% less energy, with improved comfort.
Market forces often break down in the area of building efficiency, so minimum standards are necessary to ensure energy is not being wasted.
Most codes and standards are now designed with extensive industry involvement, using a consensus approach. Therefore, legal battles resulting in delayed implementation of codes and standards are less likely.
Energy codes and standards for commercial buildings make U.S. businesses more competitive domestically and overseas by reducing utility expenses.
Energy codes and standards help reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Arguments against Energy Codes and Standards
Mandated increases in energy efficiency standards may result in short-term price increases that can adversely affect consumers, especially the low-income population.
If designed improperly, codes and standards can create a regulatory burden on U.S. industry.
Code enforcement may require more government resources.
For Further Information
Other organizations are involved in developing building codes and standards for local and state governments, and they all provide technical assistance:
The U.S. Department of Energy's Building Energy Codes program is the federal office responsible for national energy code development and standard setting. The Building Energy Codes Program Web site is an excellent source of information that includes policy case studies, state technical assistance reports and training materials.
The Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) works to promote and accelerate the adoption, implementation, and use of energy-efficient construction standards in the United States, with an overall goal to reduce energy consumption in buildings.
The International Code Council (ICC) is a nonprofit organization responsible for developing a single set of comprehensive national model codes.