huffpost.com, 3/30/21. Kim Havey had a problem. Minneapolis was generating more and more of its electricity from renewables, dropping climate-warming pollution from power to record lows. But emissions from natural gas, which is used to heat buildings and stovetops, were climbing ― overtaking power plants as the city’s top source of carbon pollution in 2017. […]
Built Environment Plus, 2/4/21. We are calling on the Massachusetts building community to advocate for a Net Zero Stretch Code within the Climate Roadmap Bill now in the Legislature. We need you to call your Senator and Representatives where you live and work, and tell them that based on your building industry expertise that you support […]
Zero energy buildings on the rise but barriers remain Written by Christopher Perry, aceee.org, October 24, 2018 Zero energy building codes are making inroads in Oregon, California, British Columbia, and other places, but a new ACEEE white paper reveals that they still face barriers to nationwide success, including a “solar-only” mentality. From coast to coast, there’s considerable […]
Two emerging code developments to targeting improved building performance Matt Lockwood, ERS, for Zondits This month, our State of Technology series focuses on energy codes. Let’s talk about two innovations in development over the last decade in energy codes: outcome-based energy codes and zEPI. Both started as dreams of energy code wonks to address the […]
Clinton rolls out energy efficiency plan The Hill, February 2, 2016. Image credit: fancycrave1 Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign Tuesday rolled out a plan to increase building energy efficiency standards as a way to cut emissions and save on energy costs. The plan, her campaign said Tuesday, looks to improve building codes, provide more information about buildings’ […]
DO ENERGY CODES WORK? Builder Online, January 4, 2016. Image credit: Chris Potter Last year the U.S. Department of Energy ( DOE) announced that eight states would be part of a three-year Residential Energy Code Field Study. Once completed, the study will provide an unprecedented opportunity to develop new strategies for education, training, and outreach for […]
Freakonomics Takes a Look at the Efficacy of Energy Efficiency Policies Gita Subramony for Zondits, February 9, 2015 This week, the Freakonomics Podcast discussed energy efficiency policies with Arik Levinson, an environmental economist at Georgetown University. Zondits had previously reported on Levinson’s paper, “How Much Energy Do Building Energy Codes Really Save? Evidence from California,” […]
With the regular introduction of more aggressive energy codes, efficiency program administrators are becoming interested in understanding the energy impacts of different levels of compliance on building energy performance.
