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Greater Adoption of Current Model Building Energy Codes and Development and Implementation of More Advanced Codes
Building energy codes require all new buildings to be built to a minimum level of energy efficiency that is cost-effective and technically feasible. "Good practice" codes have been adopted by just over half the states. States that have not yet adopted these model codes should do so. Furthermore, these model codes can and should be upgraded. In the case of residential codes, they can be further improved by including several measures to reduce use of air conditioning in hot climates and energy losses due to air infiltration and duct leakage. In the case of commercial codes, a new national model standard was published in 1999 that reduces energy use approximately 6% compared to the old "good practice" code. Here too, substantial additional improvements are possible, as measures with 10–20% additional savings were included in early drafts but dropped as part of a political process to gain "consensus." DOE should continue to provide technical assistance for these efforts, with preference given to states that adopt statewide mandatory codes at or above the model code levels. The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) should also be encouraged to regularly update their codes to incorporate the latest in cost-effective energy-saving measures. IECC has been doing well in this regard, but ASHRAE's 1999 standard revision achieves far less savings than ASHRAE had targeted. Given ASHRAE's conservatism, DOE should broaden its funding activities to include organizations and consortiums of states that are interested in achieving higher levels of energy savings than ASHRAE is able to deliver.
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