Mandating better buildings: a global review of building codes and prospects for improvement in the United States
Abstract
This paper provides a global overview of the design, implementation, and evolution of building energy codes. Reflecting alternative policy goals, building energy codes differ significantly across the United States, the European Union, and China. This review uncovers numerous innovative practices including greenhouse gas emissions caps per square meter of building space, energy performance certificates with retrofit recommendations, and inclusion of renewable energy to achieve ‘nearly zero‐energy buildings’. These innovations motivated an assessment of an aggressive commercial building code applied to all US states, requiring both new construction and buildings with major modifications to comply with the latest version of the ASHRAE 90.1 Standards. Using the National Energy Modeling System ( NEMS ), we estimate that by 2035, such building codes in the United States could reduce energy for space heating, cooling, water heating, and lighting in commercial buildings by 16%, 15%, 20%, and 5%, respectively. Impacts on different fuels and building types, energy rates and bills as well as pollution emission reductions are also examined. WIREs Energy Environ 2016, 5:188–215. doi: 10.1002/wene.168 This article is categorized under: Energy Efficiency > Economics and Policy Energy Systems Economics > Economics and Policy Energy Policy and Planning > Climate and Environment
- Authors:
-
- Georgia Inst. of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States). School of Public Policy
- City of Atlanta Mayor's Office of Sustainability, Atlanta GA (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Energy and Transportation Science Division
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1295092
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1400509
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725; 4000105765
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Energy and Environment
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 5; Journal Issue: 2; Journal ID: ISSN 2041-8396
- Publisher:
- Wiley
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY; 32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION; Commercial buildings; Building energy codes; Energy efficiency; Nearly zero-energy buildings; Energy modeling; Cost-benefit analysis
Citation Formats
Sun, Xiaojing, Brown, Marilyn A., Cox, Matt, and Jackson, Roderick. Mandating better buildings: a global review of building codes and prospects for improvement in the United States. United States: N. p., 2015.
Web. doi:10.1002/wene.168.
Sun, Xiaojing, Brown, Marilyn A., Cox, Matt, & Jackson, Roderick. Mandating better buildings: a global review of building codes and prospects for improvement in the United States. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.168
Sun, Xiaojing, Brown, Marilyn A., Cox, Matt, and Jackson, Roderick. Wed .
"Mandating better buildings: a global review of building codes and prospects for improvement in the United States". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/wene.168. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1295092.
@article{osti_1295092,
title = {Mandating better buildings: a global review of building codes and prospects for improvement in the United States},
author = {Sun, Xiaojing and Brown, Marilyn A. and Cox, Matt and Jackson, Roderick},
abstractNote = {This paper provides a global overview of the design, implementation, and evolution of building energy codes. Reflecting alternative policy goals, building energy codes differ significantly across the United States, the European Union, and China. This review uncovers numerous innovative practices including greenhouse gas emissions caps per square meter of building space, energy performance certificates with retrofit recommendations, and inclusion of renewable energy to achieve ‘nearly zero‐energy buildings’. These innovations motivated an assessment of an aggressive commercial building code applied to all US states, requiring both new construction and buildings with major modifications to comply with the latest version of the ASHRAE 90.1 Standards. Using the National Energy Modeling System ( NEMS ), we estimate that by 2035, such building codes in the United States could reduce energy for space heating, cooling, water heating, and lighting in commercial buildings by 16%, 15%, 20%, and 5%, respectively. Impacts on different fuels and building types, energy rates and bills as well as pollution emission reductions are also examined. WIREs Energy Environ 2016, 5:188–215. doi: 10.1002/wene.168 This article is categorized under: Energy Efficiency > Economics and Policy Energy Systems Economics > Economics and Policy Energy Policy and Planning > Climate and Environment},
doi = {10.1002/wene.168},
journal = {Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Energy and Environment},
number = 2,
volume = 5,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Mar 11 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Wed Mar 11 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}
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Policy Monitor—Green Buildings: Economics and Policies
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