MAKING BUILDINGS BETTER

The policy brief outlines the Build Back Better Act's (BBBA) allocation of $12.5 billion for building electrification and energy efficiency incentives, alongside additional investments for affordable housing and public infrastructure. It details specific rebate programs for electric appliances and energy efficiency retrofits, emphasizing support for low- and middle-income (LMI) households and underserved communities. The document argues that these measures, combined with updated building codes, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower consumer energy costs, improve public health, and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the U.S.

• The House version of the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) allocates $12.5 billion specifically for building electrification and energy efficiency incentives to reduce consumer bills, improve public health, and decarbonize the building sector.
• The BBBA proposes a High Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program with $2.45 billion for qualified projects and $3.8 billion specifically for multifamily housing, tribal communities, underserved communities, and low- and middle-income (LMI) homes. Rebates for single-family homes are capped at $10,000, while the maximum for LMI and underserved projects is $14,000.
• The BBBA includes $5.89 billion for Home Owner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) Rebates, which provide grants to states for energy efficiency retrofits. For single-family homes achieving 20% modeled energy savings, the rebate is the lesser of $2,000 or 50% of project costs; for LMI households, it is the lesser of $4,000 or 80% of project costs.
• Beyond direct rebates, the BBBA provides significant funding for housing and community resilience, including $65 billion for public housing upgrades, $1.77 billion for affordable housing improvements, $1.8 billion for rural rental housing, and $300 million for the adoption of updated and zero-energy building codes.
• Electrification is projected to have significant economic and environmental impacts in the U.S., potentially creating over 460,000 installation jobs, 80,000 manufacturing jobs, and 800,000 indirect and induced jobs. Additionally, 85 percent of U.S. households could save money on monthly energy bills by using modern all-electric equipment.

APA

BALDWIN, S., & TALLACKSON, H. (2021). MAKING BUILDINGS BETTER. Energy Innovation. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Making-Buildings-Better-in-the-Build-Back-Better-Act.pdf

Chicago

BALDWIN, SARA, and HADLEY TALLACKSON. MAKING BUILDINGS BETTER. Energy Innovation, 2021. https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Making-Buildings-Better-in-the-Build-Back-Better-Act.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=BALDWIN |first1=SARA |last2=TALLACKSON |first2=HADLEY |title=MAKING BUILDINGS BETTER |publisher=Energy Innovation |date=December 2021 |url=https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Making-Buildings-Better-in-the-Build-Back-Better-Act.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{baldwin2021making, author = {BALDWIN, SARA and TALLACKSON, HADLEY}, title = {{MAKING BUILDINGS BETTER}}, institution = {Energy Innovation}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/Making-Buildings-Better-in-the-Build-Back-Better-Act.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }