|
Support Sec. 201 of ACES to Achieve National Energy-Saving Targets
Building Energy Efficiency
Buildings consume about 40 percent of all energy used in the United States, and are responsible for about 40 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Efficient buildings avoid global warming, reduce demand on the power grid and stress on natural gas supplies, improve local air quality, and save consumers money. A 2006 report by the McKinsey Global Institute found that we could reduce energy use in new and existing buildings by more than one quarter by 2020 with measures that pay for themselves within ten years.
The choices we make in designing and constructing new buildings (and renovating old ones) will affect energy use for many decades to come. Building design and construction provide by far the best and most cost-effective opportunity to build in energy-efficient features that will last for the lifetime of the building. Major improvements in building efficiency are possible. The American Institute of Architects has called for reducing fossil fuel use in new and renovated buildings by 60 percent by 2010 and by 100 percent by 2030. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), which sets model building energy standards for commercial buildings, is already working to achieve 30 percent energy savings by 2010. The Department of Energy supports 30 percent savings in both residential and commercial building energy codes.
Why Improve Building Energy Codes
Building energy codes are the foundation of energy policy for the buildings sector for several reasons:
- Building energy codes overcome market barriers that stop investment in building energy efficiency. Builders have little incentive to invest in efficiency since they pay the up-front costs but not the energy bills of the buildings they develop, and buyers cannot easily see how efficient a new building will be.
- Building energy codes save consumers money—while there may be a modest initial cost for energy efficiency improvements, that cost is rolled into the mortgage and is more than paid back through lower energy bills. As the total monthly cost to the homeowner—mortgage payments plus utility bills—is lower, energy efficiency makes homes more affordable.
- Building energy codes create the foundation for “beyond-code” high-performance energy-efficient buildings. Codes improve the majority of buildings that are built to code and move up the baseline for the highest performance buildings, which are spurred by market-driven, above-code activities like Energy Star new homes and utility programs.
If model building energy codes are strengthened by 30% starting now and by 50% starting in 2015—and if all states implement the codes—the impact will be considerable. In 2030 our nation could save 8% of its total energy use in buildings (4 quadrillion Btus), save consumers $28 billion a year, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 46 million cars off the road (250 million tons of carbon dioxide). Even without further code improvements, cumulative savings through 2050 would reach more than 100 quads of energy and 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide.
Proposal for Advanced Building Energy Codes
Building energy codes currently are set in a complicated process that does not meet the national need to reduce energy demand:
- National model codes are updated every few years, typically with small incremental improvements, by two independent professional organizations: the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) from the International Code Council for homes, and ASHRAE Standard 90.1 for commercial buildings.
- The Department of Energy (DOE) is to make a determination within one year (it has usually missed that deadline) solely on whether the amended model code saves energy compared to the previous version.
- States set the actual building energy codes based on the national models (except a few states that leave codes to local governments). States are required to adopt a commercial code at least as stringent as the national model within two years of DOE’s determination. For residential codes, states are required to look at updates to the national model and either adopt them or explain why they chose not to.
- States and local governments enforce the codes, but compliance even with good codes is spotty.
Provisions in the House climate bill, American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (H.R. 2454, Sec. 201), and the Senate energy bill (Sec. __01 of the Buildings Efficiency title) would spur major improvements in building energy codes by setting national performance targets that rise gradually over time, and helping states to meet these targets and to improve compliance with their codes. Under the House bill the federal government would step in only if the professional organizations failed to develop good model codes or if states and local governments failed to adopt and enforce strong codes.. Specifically, the House provision would:
- Set targets for both the residential and commercial national model building energy codes of 30% energy savings within one year, 50% savings in 2014 for homes and 2015 for commercial buildings, rising to 75% savings around 2030 (compared to the 2006 IECC and 90.1-2007). DOE is to help meet these targets, and adopt the independent model codes if they do meet them; if not, DOE is to propose codes that do.
- Direct states within a year to adopt residential and commercial building codes that save at least as much energy as the national models (similar to the code requirement for commercial buildings today). If a state and the local government fail to do so, the national code would be in force.
- Direct states to improve compliance with their building energy codes over seven years, reaching 90% of building space, verified by inspections of a sample of buildings. DOE would provide major assistance, including 0.5% of all carbon allowance value in the bill, estimated at well over $300 million per year. If a state and the local government fail to enforce the code, DOE would do so (in a manner to be determined by a rulemaking).
The Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition of prominent business, government, environmental and consumer leaders who promote the efficient use of energy worldwide to benefit consumers, the environment, the economy, and national security.
Updated June 2009
|
