Split Systems: Coordinating Energy Policies for New and Existing Buildings

For decades, states and cities have adopted energy codes to drive energy efficiency in new buildings while lowering utility costs for consumers. More recently, many have begun adopting building performance standards (BPS) to improve the energy performance of existing buildings as well.  

Coordination between these two policy tools is critical to avoid challenges for both individual buildings and broader policy goals. For example, without alignment, a newly constructed building that complies with current energy codes might still need costly upgrades in just a few years to meet BPS requirements. 

A new brief by ACEEE and the National Energy Codes Collaborative outlines how states and cities can better align energy codes and BPS, providing case studies and insights from Atlanta, St. Louis, and Seattle. Regularly updating energy codes, setting initial targets for building performance standards to reflect prevailing energy codes, and strengthening collaboration between the authorities responsible for each policy are among the key steps jurisdictions can take to more effectively boost the performance of both new and existing buildings.