This blog was written by Mark Kresowik of Sierra Club, a Building Decarb Central partner, and represents the organization's work and approach. Building Decarb Central is meant to share different perspectives on the topic of building decarbonization. This blog is part of that dialogue.

The market of buying and selling homes is evolving, with consumers mindful of sustainability and the environment. At the same time, our homes are evolving and new technologies and practices are becoming increasingly prevalent in the real estate market. These technologies and practices make a home far more energy efficient than the housing stock to which we are accustomed.

This blog was written by Mark Kresowik of Sierra Club, a Building Decarb Central partner, and represents the organization's work and approach. Building Decarb Central is meant to share different perspectives on the topic of building decarbonization. This blog is part of that dialogue.

In many states around the country, the increased stringency of building energy codes is the only way to ensure that building energy is reduced over time. However, international building energy codes are only updated periodically and sometimes take years to be adopted at the state level. This often results in building energy reduction falling behind state carbon reduction goals.

In January of 2015, NEEP launched a new program to more effectively differentiate air source heat pumps (ASHP) capable of high performance in cold-climate applications. A new specification had to be developed and manufacturers were invited to provide the necessary information to have their products included on the list NEEP creatively dubbed the Cold Climate ASHP Product List. NEEP has maintained and housed the list of products in an excel spreadsheet for download on our website ever since.

Evaluation work is important.

It’s a necessary practice to inform both program planning and program improvement. It’s important to plan and to look back to document and improve program performance.

As we know from the ACEEE Scorecard, the Northeast region is top-ranking in energy efficiency. And, while it may go unsung, program evaluation in the region is similarly stellar. Some examples of note: