As the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee heard testimony on a suite of energy efficiency bills, including legislation to make residential housing more energy-efficient, NAHB on June 9 urged lawmakers to take into account the differences in energy savings between the newest, highest-performing homes and older, less-efficient homes that comprise the vast majority of the nation’s housing stock. » Read more: NAHB Urges Congress to Focus on Energy Efficiency Incentives for Existing Housing Stock

The latest version of the IRC gives you two options: comply with an air-sealing checklist or perform a blower-door test

Martin Holladay, GBA Advisor

Once local jurisdictions adopt the 2009 IRC, blower door technicians are likely to get very busy. One of the most cost-effective ways of lowering residential energy costs is to reduce a home’s air leakage rate, so it makes sense for energy codes to ratchet up air-sealing requirements. The latest (2009) version of the International Residential Code does exactly that. (read full article at Green Building Advisor.com)

Providing technology that enables home owners to monitor their residential energy usage is a growing trend for electronics systems contractors (ESCs) who are working with builders and remodelers on the installation of new green home technologies, according to panelists at NAHB’s National Green Building Conference & Expo earlier this month in Salt Lake City. » Read more: Energy-Use Monitoring a Trend to Watch in Green Home Technologies

At a June 13-17 meeting at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C., a consensus committee working on updating the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) will evaluate 465 changes to the original 2008 version of the standard proposed by the public. » Read more: June Meeting to Produce Draft of 2012 National Green Building Standard

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) on May 12 introduced legislation to promote energy efficiency in a variety of areas, including energy codes for new homes and commercial buildings.

The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness (ESIC) Act of 2011 contains a number of provisions, but most importantly, it would create a model federal building code administered with support by the U.S. Department of Energy. » Read more: Senate Bill Promoting Energy Efficiency Could Be Worse, But Concerns Remain