Energy Codes

As we settle into an undefined period of time at home and away from our offices, my thoughts turn to colleagues and associates throughout the energy sector – particularly those currently unemployed or underemployed: energy raters, HVAC and renewable energy installers, and code officials. 

NEEP has been pursuing energy code initiatives at local, state, and regional levels since its inception in 1996. As homes and buildings continue to be one of the largest users of energy in the United States, energy codes work is a strong catalyst for driving down energy use and carbon emissions while improving public health.

Energy codes can push the market in powerful ways. Their pervasive influence in the sustainability industry works to promote increased renewable energy production, grid interconnectedness, and housing affordability. With the added benefit that they improve public health, there has never been a more important time to focus on advanced building energy codes than during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

My grandparents used to live in an 1821 Connecticut farmhouse. The property was beautiful – original wood floors and beams, nine acres of yard, a horse shed, big garden, small creek, and towering maple and oak trees. We always considered spending the holiday season there, but never did; mold, mildew, and rot that had grown throughout the structure triggered allergic reactions and severely limited our ability to stay overnight.

A History of Climate Leadership

In December 2017, NEEP published a revised edition of the Model Progressive Building Energy Codes Policy paper, or as we like to call it, our “energy code bible”. The latest version – a new Building Energy Codes for a Carbon-Constrained Era: A Toolkit of Strategies and Examples paper is divided into two sections.

Updated energy codes are critical to ensuring that all new construction homes or renovations are built to be efficient, comfortable, and safe. The conversation, however, gets more complicated when examining how energy codes, or a lack thereof, affect underserved populations.

When people bring up Bigfoot, they often cite evidence that lacks credibility. Even with the lack of tangible, physical proof of Big Foot’s existence, people are still willing to embrace the beast as fact. This is how myths persist. The folklore of Bigfoot has not ceased in recent years, and the same false narratives continue to be passed around the internet.

Myths exist in every facet of our lives. From cryptid creatures like Bigfoot haunting our Pacific Northwest, to the notion that eating before swimming increases risks of muscle cramps, myths permeate our culture.