This is an excerpt from EERE Network News, a weekly electronic newsletter.
December 21, 2007
Regulations to Increase Energy Efficiency in New Federal Buildings by 30%
DOE announced on December 21st that it had established regulations that require all new federal buildings, as well as low-rise residential buildings that were constructed on or after January 3, 2007, to achieve at least 30% greater energy efficiency than that of the prevailing building codes. These new standards are also 40% more efficient than the current Code of Federal Regulations and will help federal agencies meet Executive Order #13423, which mandated increased federal energy efficiency. Over the next ten years, these standards could save more than 40 trillion Btu and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2 million metric tons.
Federal commercial, multi-family high-rise residential buildings, and low-rise residential buildings are all included under these new regulations. The new standards aim to address energy efficiency by looking at a building's entire performance, instead of relying on prescriptive requirements for building components and systems. The high standards put forth in these regulations will also encourage federal builders to use an integrated approach when constructing new buildings. See the DOE press release.
