The American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy (ACEEE) recently released a new fact sheet on the use of the 45L Builder New Home Tax Credit. The credit aided home builders nationwide last year – spurring the construction of 350,000 new energy-efficient homes, which resulted in significant cost savings for home buyers. That amounts to roughly 22 percent of new homes built in 2024.
Details »This week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasted that U.S. natural gas prices in 2025 and 2026 will increase by 21 percent. The projected increase in natural gas prices tempers hopes that home heating costs for Americans would decrease and comes at a time when America’s economy is dealing with persistent inflation. About 60 percent of American homes rely on natural gas.
Over 1,000 insulation, HVAC, and manufacturing companies signed a letter to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee leaders last week urging them to save the 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Tax Credit. The $1,200 homeowner tax credit is vulnerable to repeal as congressional lawmakers identify cost savings to pay for extending the corporate and individual tax rates set during the first Trump Administration.
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Maximizing energy performance to cost in new construction homes is every home builder’s goal and every home buyer’s expectation. Research shows that home buyers want energy efficiency but also need affordability. For builders committed to maximizing efficiency, fiberglass and mineral wool insulation products offer both performance and cost-effectiveness.
In this week’s blog, we highlight three publications that demonstrate that fiberglass and mineral wool can be used to meet any high-performance building approach.
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Analysis conducted by ICF consulting compared the home energy performance of the 2020 National Green Building Standard (NGBS), the first residential green building standard to undergo the full consensus process from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the 2021 Residential International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). The analysis showed that the NGBS is not equivalent to the 2021 IECC except possibly at the Emerald level, and all homes at the Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels result in worse energy performance and higher energy costs than the 2021 IECC.
Details »Yesterday, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its Energy Efficiency 2024 report, concluding that much faster progress on global energy efficiency is needed to meet the climate pledges of COP28 held last year. Nearly 200 countries, including the United States, pledged to double the global annual average rate of energy efficiency during the event. One year later, a weak improvement of just 1 percent has been achieved. However, the report includes critical takeaways for the building industry and buildings.
A new tool that leverages the capabilities of NAIMA’s 3E Plus pipe insulation thickness calculator for commercial and industrial facilities is now available. Within just a few minutes, the 3E Estimator can give users a ballpark estimate of the energy and emissions savings by adding insulation to the piping in an industrial facility.
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There’s no shortage of news stories proliferating within building and energy efficiency circles. It can be overwhelming to keep up with developments, so this week, we focus on three stories that we think should be on your radar.
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NAIMA has released a new report detailing the thermal conductivity of fiberglass, mineral wool, and aerogel pipe insulation products under high process temperatures. A specific test, the ASTM C335, is prescribed for conducting such testing, which must be completed by an accredited testing facility.
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Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a final rule updating the energy code requirements for HUD and USDA new home mortgages. All new construction homes purchased with these federal mortgages must now comply with the 2021 or the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). While the final rule was announced today, enforcement of the rule will not come for 18 months. Currently, the rules require compliance with the 2009 IECC. This new requirement will increase the energy efficiency of new homes by more than 30 percent.
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