Homebuyer Demand for Energy Codes

Posted on December 4, 2015 by Kamaria Greenfield

Consumer demand for energy efficiency is a topic energy code advocates need to understand. We want to know the answers to questions like “do consumers believe in conserving energy through increasing energy efficiency in their homes?” and “how much are consumers willing to pay for home improvements for efficiency?” so that we can make a stronger case for our support for energy efficient building codes. Recently, BCAP looked at four major consumer surveys and summarized th...

New Year, New Codes

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Kamaria Greenfield

Energy efficiency rang in the New Year with seven states implementing new and improved building energy codes. The 2015 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), the latest version of the energy code, is now enforced in Maryland and Vermont; the 2012 IECC is implemented in Idaho, Minnesota, and New York; and the 2009 IECC is used in Arkansas and Louisiana. Here, some key facts about the new state code updates: 2015 IECC Maryland is the first state to enforce the newest and most efficient ve...

More Evidence Debunking The Myth That Buyers Won’t Pay More For Energy Efficiency

Posted on September 25, 2014 by Kamaria Greenfield

This week at the Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) Excellence in Building conference in St. Louis, Missouri, the U.S. Department of Energy presented 28 builders with “Housing Innovation Awards”, including six builders in the affordable housing category. The builders that accepted the awards didn’t repeat the common builder mantra: “it’s too expensive to build to the next model energy code” and “buyers won’t pay more for home that&rs...

Nebraska Energy Code Compliance Collaborative: A Case Study On An Emerging Best Practice

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Kamaria Greenfield

by Paul Karrer In the wake of the Great Recession in 2009, Congress passed the Recovery Act to stimulate the national economy. Within that legislation, a pot of $3.1 billion in expanded State Energy Program (SEP) funding was linked to commitments from states to update their building energy codes and to develop plans to achieve greater rates of compliance by 2017. By January 2014, BCAP projects that about two of every three U.S. states will have implemented building energy codes that meet or exce...

Compliance Collaboratives Convene To Share Lessons Learned

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Kamaria Greenfield

On August 22, BCAP hosted an information sharing webinar on an emerging best practice in building energy codes: state Energy Code Compliance Collaboratives. A compliance collaborative is a forum for experts from diverse stakeholder groups impacted by energy codes to come together to work toward common interests and goals. The collaborative is a long-term, multi-year initiative to assist its state in implementing a plan to achieve full compliance with energy codes. The webinar featured progress r...