Energy efficiency reduces energy costs for owners, increases reliability and availability of electricity for California, improves building occupant comfort, and reduces environmental impact.
Buildings are a major contributor to electricity demand. The 2000 to 2001 California energy crisis and the East Coast blackout in the summer of 2003 illustrated the fragility of the electric distribution network. System overloads caused by excessive demand from buildings create unstable conditions. Blackouts disrupt business and cost the economy billions of dollars.
Since the California electricity crisis, the CEC has placed more emphasis on demand reduction.
Comfort is an important benefit of energy-efficient buildings. Energy-efficient buildings include high-performance windows to reduce solar gains and heat loss, and properly designed HVAC systems, which improve air circulation. Poorly designed building envelopes result in buildings that are less comfortable. Oversized heating and cooling systems do not ensure comfort in older, poorly insulated, or leaky buildings.
Energy efficiency helps create a more profitable operation for building owners. More broadly, the less that California depends on depletable resources such as natural gas, coal, and oil, the stronger and more stable the economy will remain as energy costs increase. Investing in energy efficiency benefits everyone. It is more cost-effective to invest in saving energy than build new power plants.
The use of depletable energy has led to oil spills, acid rain, smog, and other forms of environmental pollution that threaten the natural beauty of the planet. California is not immune to these problems, but the Appliance Efficiency Regulations, the Energy Code, and utility programs that promote efficiency and conservation help maintain environmental quality. Other benefits include increased preservation of natural habitats, which protects animals, plants, and ecosystems.
Burning fossil fuel adds carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere, a major contributor to global warming. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases create an insulating layer that leads to global climate change. The CEC's research shows that most sectors of California economy face significant risk from climate change, including water resources (from reduced snowpack), agriculture, forests, and the natural habitats of indigenous plants and animals.
Energy efficiency is a far-reaching strategy to reducing greenhouse gases. The National Academy of Sciences has urged the country to follow California's lead on such efforts, saying that conservation and efficiency should be the chief elements in energy and global warming policy. Its first efficiency recommendation was to adopt nationwide energy efficiency building codes.
The Energy Code is expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas and other air emissions.
California has nearly 14 million homes and 7.5 million square feet of commercial buildings. These buildings produce a quarter of the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making homes and businesses a major factor in climate change. Reducing these emissions, also referred to as building decarbonization, is a key part of California’s climate strategy. Of the many tools in the state’s building decarbonization toolbox, the Building Energy Efficiency Standards stand out as a proven solution of significance.
In August 2021, the CEC adopted the 2022 Energy Code for newly constructed buildings and additions and alterations to existing buildings. This code blazes a trail for states and governments seeking to decarbonize the building sector aggressively, feasibly and cost-effectively. This update encourages efficient electric heat pumps, establishes electric-ready requirements for newly constructed homes, and strengthens ventilation standards. For the first time in the nation, this update also requires solar photovoltaic systems plus battery systems as the performance standards baseline (standard design) for select nonresidential building types. Over the next 30 years, this code is estimated to provide the state with $1.5 billion in environmental benefits; equivalent to taking nearly 2.2 million cars off the road for a year. The development of this code was a multiyear effort led by the CEC through a robust public process and with support from an expansive network of key market partners such as California’s largest utilities, the building community, and environmental advocates.