The Biden Administration recently moved to require more stringent energy efficiency standards on federally funded housing projects.
Developers building homes with taxpayer funds will have to construct to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) 2021 for low-density housing and American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers ASHRAE 90.1 for multi-family projects. The new standards will result in energy savings of more than 35% for families, officials say.
An estimated 170,000 new homes per year would be impacted by the beefed-up standards. This includes newly built or financed subsidized housing, both urban and rural. Many of the residents will be families of limited means who will benefit from energy cost savings, the administration says.
The White House also pledged $830 million for clean-energy building retrofits for existing homes, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.
Related Stories
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 22, 2013
Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]
The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
| Apr 19, 2013
7 hip high-rise developments on the drawing board
Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill's whimsical Dancing Dragons tower in Seoul is among the compelling high-rise projects in the works across the globe.
| Apr 16, 2013
5 projects that profited from insulated metal panels
From an orchid-shaped visitor center to California’s largest public works project, each of these projects benefited from IMP technology.
| Apr 5, 2013
Bangkok gets a leaning tower, that may topple
A seven-story apartment tower under construction in Bangkok has started to tilt and is on the verge of toppling.
| Apr 3, 2013
5 award-winning modular buildings
The Modular Building Institute recently revealed the winners of its annual Awards of Distinction contest. There were 42 winners in all across six categories. Here are five projects that caught our eye.
| Mar 27, 2013
RSMeans cost comparisons: college labs, classrooms, residence halls, student unions
Construction market analysts from RSMeans offer construction costs per square foot for four building types across 25 metro markets.