Codes to Cleaner Buildings: Effectiveness of U.S. Building Energy Codes

A research paper by the Climate Policy Initiative San Francisco that uses residential energy use data and regression analysis to measure the actual impact of state building energy codes in the United States, comparing these results to engineering simulation models.

• Building energy codes are associated with a reduction in energy consumption of approximately 10% per housing unit when compared to households not built under such codes.
• The studied energy codes correlate with a shift in fuel usage, where housing units use a larger share of natural gas and fewer 'other' fuels, specifically fuel oil. This trend may be driven by code provisions promoting electric heat pumps and high-efficiency gas units.
• The combination of reduced energy use and the shift toward natural gas has resulted in an estimated 16% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for an average household built under the codes.
• Real-world energy consumption data indicates that building codes provide higher energy savings than the 5% predicted by engineering simulation models.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2011). Codes to Cleaner Buildings: Effectiveness of U.S. Building Energy Codes. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/codes-to-cleaner-buildings-effectiveness-of-u-s-building-energy-codes/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Codes to Cleaner Buildings: Effectiveness of U.S. Building Energy Codes. 2011. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/codes-to-cleaner-buildings-effectiveness-of-u-s-building-energy-codes/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Codes to Cleaner Buildings: Effectiveness of U.S. Building Energy Codes |date=8 September 2011 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/codes-to-cleaner-buildings-effectiveness-of-u-s-building-energy-codes/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2011codes, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Codes to Cleaner Buildings: Effectiveness of U.S. Building Energy Codes}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2011}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/codes-to-cleaner-buildings-effectiveness-of-u-s-building-energy-codes/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }