Summary

Effective Policy Tools

Energy Codes and Standards for buildings are effective energy policy tools. For this reason they are increasingly used by government entities worldwide. They have been adopted first by wealthier, more developed government jurisdictions, and then later and more slowly by developing countries and jurisdictions.

Such energy codes are most effective when used in conjunction with other policy tools that together encourage widespread market transformation that can lead to significanly lower energy use and increased sustainability of the building stock in a jurisdiction. Other effective policy tools that use energy codes as baselines include:

• Utility incentive programs, that partially pay for the added first-cost of more efficient equipment installed in buildings.
• Utility design assistance programs, that pay incentives not just for the more efficient equipment but also for the increased cost of design activities to identify and to select more efficient design solutions.
• Performance rating systems, that encourage high-performance, low-energy, sustainable buildings (e.g., USGBC's LEED rating system).

SU•PER•B strongly supports the widespread adoption and effective enforcement of energy efficiency building codes and standards worldwide, both in developed and in developing countries.

Our founding key staff members - Joseph Deringer and McHenry Wallace - have served as volunteer members of ASHRAE's premier energy standard 90.1 for a combined total of 27 years. Mr. Deringer has twice served as Chair of the 90.1 Building Envelope subcommittee for a total of 10 years.

Joseph Deringer has also led international teams of consultants that provided technical assistance to in country teams in 7 developing countries to help them develop first-generation energy efficiency codes tailored to their construction practices.

SU•PER•B strongly supports further actions to assist developing countries to improve the energy performance and sustainability of their buildings. A particular challenge is to enable such countries to effectively implement and to enforce the energy efficeincy codes that are developed. Much work remains to be done in this area.