The California Energy Commission has approved new energy efficiency standards for new homes and commercial buildings that are expected to reduce energy costs and save consumers money.
The standards, effective Jan. 1, 2014, are 25 percent more efficient than previous standards for residential construction and 30 percent more efficient for nonresidential construction.
For new homes, the standards mandate insulated hot water pipes and require that roofs be built to accommodate future solar system installations. The new commercial standards require advanced lighting controls to synchronize lighting levels with natural light and high performance windows.
The cost of constructing a new home will increase by $2,290 with the new standards, the CEC calculates. But it projects that consumers will see a return of more than $6,200 in energy savings over three decades. Based on a 30-year mortgage, the standards will save consumers about $27 on monthly energy bills.
The CEC projects that these new standards will save millions of gallons of water and create 3,500 new jobs in the building industry within the first year of implementation. The commission predicts the standards will have saved nearly 14,000 megawatt hours — enough energy to power 1.7 million homes — within the first three decades of implementation.
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