Three-fourths of Calif. homes never met state energy efficiency standards
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17 Aug 2012
Policymakers and the market are increasingly demanding energy efficiency in new construction. But what about the buildings already standing?
Take California as an example. The California Energy Commission is charged with implementing AB 758, which authorizes the commission to develop a comprehensive program to reduce energy consumption in existing buildings. In December 2010, Panama Bartholomy, then Deputy Director of the California Energy Commission’s Efficiency and Renewables Division, framed the scope of the daunting task facing policymakers:
“The existing building sector is critically important for our energy and environmental goals, as 72% of California’s 13 million residential buildings and over 5 billion square feet of commercial structures were built before the implementation of California’s energy efficiency building code (Title 24) in the early 1980s. This means that 3 out of 4 homes in California have never had to comply with any energy efficiency requirements whatsoever.
