Building Performance Standards
Resource Libarary

Explore our curated collection of Builiding Performance Standards Resources to help policy makers create meaningful standards and building owners effectively understand and implement them.

Tools for State, Local, and Tribal Governments

Additional Tools

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ENERGY STAR Certification

Overview of EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification for buildings and a description of the energy performance standards set by EPA.

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OUTCOME-BASED CODES FOR CITIES

This document provides jurisdictions with a new approach to shift their focus towards actual, measurable energy results and provides guidance for incorporating an outcome-based compliance path into current energy codes. The guide includes draft regulatory language as a framework around which jurisdictions can begin to align their energy goals through their building codes

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Building Energy Benchmarking and Transparency: Overview for State and Local Decision Makers

EPA’s Benchmarking and Building Performance Standards Policy Toolkit aims to inform and support state and local government decision makers who are exploring policies to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing commercial and multifamily buildings in their communities. This section of the toolkit focuses on building energy benchmarking and transparency policies. It provides information about what is needed for these policies, lists key considerations for success, and demonstrates how government leaders have used benchmarking as an initial step for enacting building performance standards. The toolkit includes four sections—each intended to build on the previous section— that focus on different aspects of policy development

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ENERGY STAR Buildings Support for State and Local Governments

Fact sheet providing an overview of how
EPA’s ENERGY STAR® Commercial and Industrial Branch serves as a partnership among private and public sector organizations to channel marketplace ingenuity, promote energy efficiency, and prevent pollution.

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ENERGY STAR An Overview of Portfolio Manager

Guide describing some of ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager's basic functions, such as how to navigate through the tool, enter building data, and connect and share data with others.

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20% STRETCH CODE PROVISIONS

The 20% Stretch Code Provisions measures are the first outcome of a larger project that is focused directly on the technical development of stretch codes and standards, and on support for jurisdictions in adopting and implementing these policies. As jurisdictions move forward with the adoption of codes and policies that support building stock performance improvement, a set of increasingly stringent performance metrics are anticipated, ranging from a 20% improvement over baseline code performance to a policy that delivers zero energy performance in buildings.

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MOVING ENERGY CODES FORWARD: A GUIDE FOR CITIES AND STATES

Moving Energy Codes Forward: A Guide for Cities and States provides critical steps to achieve significant code improvements through the adoption of stretch codes and provides a practical framework for implementing advanced codes and outcome policies. It offers guidance, resources and examples of advanced code adoption based on New Buildings Institute's stretch code development and adoption experience working with states and communities.

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Model Stretch Code Provisions for a 20% Performance Improvement in New Commercial Construction

This summary document describes a set of code strategies that represent a 20% performance improvement for commercial buildings over the ASHRAE 90.1-2013 code baseline (and approximately similar savings over the IECC 2015 baseline).

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The Technical Basis of Building Performance Standards

As leading cities and states seek to meet their aggressive climate, energy, and decarbonization goals, they are turning increasingly to mandatory policies that require improved energy and emissions performance across their existing building stock. The most comprehensive of these policies is the BPS, in which performance thresholds are set that building owners must meet at a specified time or when a triggering event occurs. A BPS can address a range of emissions, energy and grid-related goals. This paper examines technical approaches used to set the key metrics for both buildings and fuels in performance standard legislation.

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Building Decarbonization Code

The Building Decarbonization Code is a groundbreaking tool aiming to deliver carbon neutral performance. The Version 1.2 code language from NBI serves as a building decarbonization overlay to the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and is now compatible with ASHRAE 90.1. It is designed to help states and cities working to mitigate carbon resulting from energy use in the built environment, which accounts for 39% of U.S. emissions.

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40% Stretch Energy Standard

This guide is part of a larger project focused on the technical development of advanced energy codes and policies, and on support for jurisdictions to adopt and implement these approaches.

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