From the power line:
Few cities have energy efficiency regulations on existing buildings
Editor's note: The Energy Services Bulletin features real answers to real questions posed to our staff at the Energy Services Power Line. We hope you find it useful.
Question:
Do you have information on legal ordinances (state or local) that regulate the energy efficiency of existing buildings?
Answer:
Although we didn't find a single source for all such ordinances, we did find the following resources that demonstrate some state and local government efforts.
The U.S. Green Building Council might be a good source of information about other state and local efforts to mandate energy-efficiency in existing buildings. The USGBC is developing a rating system called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design—or LEED—for existing buildings. LEED project committee chair is Michael Arny. Call him at 608-280-0255.
The USGBC's State and Local Government Committee is another source of information. Mary Tucker with the city of San Jose, Calif., chairs the committee.
You might also contact Diana Shankle at the Building Energy Codes Program at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The program is designed to encourage communication among building industry professionals, state and local code officials and researchers, with the aim of developing building energy-efficiency standards.
A database that covers the status of state energy codes, existing buildings and information for several states was developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in collaboration with the Department of Energy's Building Energy Codes Program.
Another resource is the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers. ASHRAE produced the first standards on existing buildings to complement its new building standards.
We also found the following information regarding energy efficiency in existing buildings and time-of-sale ordinances: