Tag Archives: building energy rating

Energy Guides for Buildings? It’s Coming!

First adopted over a decade ago in Australia and Denmark, mandatory building energy rating policies are now in place in over 30 countries worldwide. Fundamentally, rating and disclosure is pretty straightforward – we see the concept applied every day in nutritional labels on food, fuel economy stickers on cars and energy labels on appliances. Unfortunately for buildings, slapping on an energy rating label isn’t as easy as this photo illustrates and unlike national labeling requirements for vehicles or appliances, rating and disclosure policy requirements for buildings will vary substantially between jurisdictions. Continue reading

NEEP Briefs U.S. Senate on Reducing Energy in Buildings

By Jim O'Reilly, Director of Public Policy

I recently had the chance to travel to Washington, D.C. and brief U.S. Senate staff on building energy efficiency, immediately in advance of a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee vote on the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2011 (S.1000),  sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio).   The bill just passed the Committee with strong bipartisan support.  Here is  a summary of the discussion,  and  my presentation to U.S. Senate staff on reducing energy in buildings.
Continue reading