by Julia Friedman and Ian Adams, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA)
The Midwest has a long history of supporting energy efficiency. In 1983, Minnesota was the first state to pilot a statewide energy efficiency program. Since then six Midwestern states have adopted some form of an energy savings target, also known as an Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS).[1] Of these states, in 2011 and 2012, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois all exceeded their energy efficiency targets.[2]
These...
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Energy efficiency
Less Than 100 Days To Comment On EPA’s Clean Power Plan
In June, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a historic plan under the Clean Air Act’s Section 111(d) to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the nation’s largest source: existing power plants. Because 71 percent of America’s electricity is consumed by residential and commercial buildings, building energy codes – which have proven to be among the most cost effective measures to reduce carbon emissions – should be a prominent part of the menu of options tha...
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High-R Wall Construction Strategies: Reducing Costs And Risk While Increasing Energy Performance
by Seul Rhee
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America research program has been a source of innovations in residential building energy performance, durability, quality, affordability and comfort for nearly 20 years. This world-class research program partners with industry (including many of the top U.S. homebuilders) to bring cutting-edge innovations and resources to market.
The NAHB Research Center Building America industry team’s high-R wall system research focuses primaril...
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Applying 2013 Energy Codes
Looking back at this year’s green projects, it seems architects should have placed greater concern on energy code compliance.By Dennis Hidalgo, LEED AP O+M
This article was originally posted in Green Home Builder.
Building energy codes mandate design and construction practices, materials, equipment, and systems that are intended to achieve minimum efficiency targets when buildings are initially constructed as well as when renovated. However, the process by which these codes are implemented...
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The Energy Productivity Innovation Challenge Can Do Better By Codes
By Cosimina Panetti
If you were going to install a renewable energy system on your house, you would first make sure your house was as energy efficient as possible. At minimum, you would want your house to meet current model energy codes and you would probably go above and beyond the code. If you were the federal government providing incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy systems to states, wouldn’t you expect that states adopt a minimum energy efficiency code? And yet the feder...
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Code Officials Defeat Proposals To Rollback Historic Efficiency Gains In America’s Model Energy Code
Atlantic City, N.J., October 8, 2013 – Sound energy policy prevailed as local and state governmental officials rejected dozens of builder-sponsored home efficiency rollback proposals in a three-day marathon meeting convened by the International Code Council (ICC) to develop the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).
“Today was a victory for America’s homebuyers,” said Bill Fay, Executive Director of the Energy Efficient Codes Coalition (EECC). “By dismissing efforts to roll back ...
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