The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports the development of cost-effective energy codes and standards to increase efficiency in residential and commercial buildings. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted a series of cost analyses, covering the 2009 and 2012 editions of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for new single- and multi-family homes. The evaluation was performed against a 2006 IECC baseline, taking state-specific code amendments into consideration.

• Energy Analysis: A national comparison of energy savings by climate zone.
• Cost Analysis: A national overview of cost-effectiveness by climate zone.
• Cost-effectiveness reports covering state-specific scenarios are available below in Table 1.
• A webinar presentation is also available, providing an overview of the analyses, both national and state results, as well as the underlying methodology.

DOE assesses the cost-effectiveness of residential codes based on a life-cycle approach, balancing first costs against longer-term energy savings over the life of the home. More information on the DOE analysis is presented in the Technical Support Document, which documents the analytical approach, energy and cost savings analysis results, and other details regarding the Residential methodology. The resulting simulation input and output files used in the analysis are available on the Residential Prototype Building Models page.

For questions not covered in the report, or other concerns, please contact the Building Energy Codes Program help desk.

For more information on the cost-effectiveness of residential building energy codes, see

• Methodology for Evaluating Cost-effectiveness of Residential Energy Codes
• Building Component Cost Community (BC3) Database.