Publications

This report is focused on the analysis of collected data in support of the development of an updated methodology to measure the impact of energy codes on commercial buildings and identify opportunities for savings through increased compliance. The primary goal was to analyze the data collected during the field study and determine the actual energy cost impact of each measure in a non-compliance situation. The energy impact results allowed for ranking the measures to identify which have the highest potential for lost savings.

2021 NECC Presentation

2021 NECC Presentation

Described separately from the U.S. DOE Multifamily Residential Energy Efficiency Field Study, this report is a simultaneous study of building air tightness occurred using several of the main study buildings and additional sites that met the building type criteria. Overall, 26 sites were evaluated this way using semi-automated testing equipment (blower doors).
 

Final report of the U.S. DOE Multifamily Residential Energy Efficiency Field Study to validate the impact of building energy codes in low-rise multifamily buildings and identify opportunities for increased energy that can be addressed through workforce education & training programs. Results include both characteristics summaries (by state) and an analysis of the opportunities associated with increased code compliance on building energy use in the different climate zones. As well, the process of collecting and processing building data so that these estimates can be prepared is described in detail, with the intent that others could employ this process in future studies. This report also includes a market research component that describes interviews with key actors in the multifamily sector (building designers, developers, and builders) that focuses on various aspects of the code, including specific code details relevant to code education and training, and overall energy performance.

Field study data supporting the U.S. DOE Multifamily Residential Energy Efficiency Field Study to validate the impact of building energy codes in low-rise multifamily buildings and identify opportunities for increased energy that can be addressed through workforce education & training programs. This zip file contains individual documents listed below)

• Data Dictionary
• Entity Relationship Diagram
• Generic Read Me
• Illinois Summary Dataset
• Minnesota Summary Dataset
• Oregon Summary Dataset
• Washington Summary Dataset

Presentation slides from the 2019 National Energy Codes Conference that provided an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy Building Energy Codes residential field study Phase III data collection and findings.

A research project in the state of Tennessee identified opportunities to reduce homeowner utility bills in residential single-family new construction by increasing compliance with the state energy code.  The study was initiated in September 2017 and continued through July 2018.  Analysis of the data has led to a better understanding of the energy features present in homes and indicates over $2.5 million in potential annual savings to Tennessee homeowners that could result from increased code compliance.

This document attempts to answer the following questions: What is the potential value of increasing compliance with the energy code and which code requirements should be emphasized during these studies? Ultimately, these are the questions that policy makers, funders, and program implementers care about. To answer them, a far more sophisticated approach is needed, one that addresses not only the question of value, but also the resource requirements to determine that value.

A research project in the state of Oregon identified opportunities to reduce homeowner utility bills in residential single-family new construction by increasing compliance with the state energy code. The study was initiated in November 2019; data collection began in November 2019 and continued through February 2020. Analysis of the data has led to a better understanding of the energy features present in homes and identified over $600,000 in potential annual savings to Oregon homeowners that could result from increased compliance with the 2017 Oregon Residential Specialty Code (2017 ORSC).

A research project in the Commonwealth of Virginia identified opportunities to reduce homeowner utility bills in residential single-family new construction by increasing compliance with the state energy code. The study was initiated in August 2017 and continued through May 2018. During this period, research teams visited 138 homes during various stages of construction, resulting in a substantial data set based on observations made directly in the field.

This is the data collected for states using DOE's Residential Field Study Methodology, but not part of DOE's Residential Field Study.  Data is currently available for ID, IL, MO, MT, NE, VA, and WV but additional data will be added as other states use the methodology.