Efficiency First

Energy Codes in Action Existing state and local building codes prove the effectiveness of stronger efficiency standards

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Section 201 of the landmark clean energy legislation now pending on Capitol Hill calls for the adoption of a national energy efficiency code for residential and commercial buildings. But there’s no need to wait for the clean enrgy bill to clear Congress to see how effective the proposed building codes might be. A recent article in the New York Times examined the pros and cons of stricter energy standards in place at the state and municipal level. While many builders oppose such regulation outright, the article says, progressive energy codes are already bearing fruit in places like California and Florida:

Strong codes are helping states reduce the growth in their electricity use — sometimes to the point that per capita consumption has leveled off, as in California. California reports that it has reduced energy consumption in new houses and commercial buildings by 75 percent over the three decades that codes have been in effect there. Likewise, a new home built today in Florida, a state that also has a strong energy code, is nearly 70 percent more energy-efficient than a home of the same size built when codes were first enacted in 1979, according to the Florida Solar Energy Center, a state-supported research institute.

The city of Austin, Texas – which the Times describes as having “one of the toughest building codes in the country” – has been enacting progressively stronger building energy codes since 1995, in which time “the typical home has decreased its annual energy use per square foot to 6.5 kilowatt hours, from 8.95 kilowatt hours, an efficiency gain of 27 percent.” New codes adopted last year in Austin aim even higher, requiring more efficient lighting and windows, better insulation, reflective heat barriers below roofs, and a thorough energy audit before a new building can be occupied. The goal is to “increase efficiency in new buildings by 65 percent, with requirements gradually tightening from now to 2015.”

The efforts of these localities show that no new technology needs to be invented to make major gains in saving energy. Products already available permit the construction of homes at least 30 percent more efficient than the national average. With enough political will, a new law can be put in place anywhere with the stroke of a pen, and made even more potent if it is coupled with tough oversight, as in Austin.

Read the complete article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/business/energy-environment/18codes.html?scp=1&sq=austin%20auditor&st=cse

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