It’s a reality of modern life that we spend a great deal of our time indoors, comfortably living and working. However, little thought may actually be given to the amount of energy the buildings we occupy consume. The fact is these spaces, at home and in the workplace, account for close to 40% of total U.S. energy use and demand 70% of our electricity! By requiring new building construction to meet specific standards, energy codes can serve as useful mechanisms for realizing significant energy and cost savings throughout our communities.
PIX/NREL 16645After a tornado devastated their town in May 2007, the citizens of Greensburg, Kansas, turned disaster into opportunity by rebuilding as a model “green” community. New high-performance homes, like the one pictured above, will use 40% to 50% less energy than current building code requires.
Often an untapped resource, improving building energy efficiency has the potential for substantial rewards. Building energy codes offer cost-effective solutions that can reduce energy use in new constructions by 50% or more compared to buildings designed without such standards. Effectively implemented, building energy codes facilitate comprehensive reductions in energy use and subsequent spending.
Improving energy efficiency in a building is best performed during the building’s original design and construction because it is the most cost-effective point during what is a typical building’s 30 to 50 year existence. With the power to adopt codes that ensure all new building construction includes measures that require efficient use of energy, local governments have the opportunity to influence community-wide energy conservation. Establishing building code programs that require energy-efficient design today will reduce operational costs in the long run, saving homeowners, landlords, and taxpayers money.
Energy reduction and cost savings only encompass part of the top 10 reasons for building energy codes. Our next post on this topic will cover the two primary baseline building energy codes that states and localities should consider adopting to regulate the design and construction of new buildings in their communities.
Has your community benefitted from an improvement to its building energy codes? Please share your story with us.
Content for this Blog post courtesy of Scott Regenthal, National Renewable Energy Laboratory