A majority of states have developed comprehensive energy plans that provide recommendations for increasing efficiencies across numerous sectors. As buildings account for around 40% of national energy consumption, one aspect of these state plans should be building energy codes. This article will provide a brief overview of how several recently published state plans are addressing building concerns.
Maine (February 2015)
Because of the high demand for home heating oil in the state, one of Maine&...
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Missouri
A Tale of Bright Highs and Dark Lows: The State of Energy Efficiency in the Midwest
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 polic...
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Success Story: Kansas City Pushes Strong Energy Code Update To Spur Metropolitan Area In Home Rule State
by Paul Karrer
The states of Missouri and Kansas present unique challenges to building energy code adoption support. As home rule states, they do not adopt mandatory statewide codes, necessitating local adoption strategies. The two states also share a major metropolitan area comprised of many municipalities with code enforcement authority. As such, market efficiencies in the building industry have developed in recent years and incentivized local jurisdictions adopting regulations identical or su...
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