More new homes conserve energy (more states adopting new energy building codes) - USA Today
The "2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), ....requires an estimated 30% more efficiency than those built five years ago."
Efficiency and conservation offer the best "bang-for-the-buck" in terms of energy gained/saved per dollar of investment.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/environment/story/2012-02-02/more-homes-conserve-energy/53098306/1
"There's definitely been a lot of movement by states to adopt more energy-efficient codes," says Max Neubauer of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, which advocates them.
He says states see them as a cost-effective way to reduce pollution and were given Recovery Act funds to adopt them. He adds: "The movement is going to continue."
Energy building codes are generally updated every three years, but the last two cycles have required the biggest leaps in efficiency. The 2009 IECC required 15% greater efficiency than the 2006 code, and the 2012 version adds about another 15%.
The number of states adopting the 2009 code for homes jumped from six in January 2010 to 23 as of Feb. 1, 2012. In that two-year period, the number of states enacting a similar code for commercial projects jumped from seven to 30, according to Paul Karrer of the Building Codes Assistance Project, a project of groups seeking energy efficiency.
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