Building An Energy-Efficient America

A new generation of clean, efficient, zero-energy homes and businesses could be just on the horizon. With new high-tech building products, advanced construction techniques, and increasingly affordable solar panels, we've already got what it takes to build green.

Homes and businesses account for almost half of our energy use—and half of our global warming pollution. And yet we are still designing most of our buildings as if we weren’t facing skyrocketing energy costs or a growing threat from global warming.

We can do better—and bring our homes and businesses into the 21st century. From city building codes to the incentives set by Congress, we’re working to rewrite the rules that affect how we build. In doing so, we can move our country forward, past the old, inefficient and wasteful, and put ourselves on track to make all new buildings zero-energy by 2030.

To get to zero, we need to:

• Ramp up building energy codes—the rules that set the minimum for building efficiency.
• Make sure we’re enforcing these codes, so that all buildings are wasting as little energy as possible.
• Give innovative builders the tools they need to go even further by retrofitting old buildings and developing new ways to save energy.
• Make it easy for everyone to add solar panels and other renewables to their homes and businesses.

In September, officials from towns and cities across the country will be coming together to make one of the most significant energy decisions of 2008.  Read more.