Transcript:
To people outside the construction industry, energy codes might sound wonkish, but they help determine a home’s comfort and affordability.
Residential energy codes set minimum efficiency standards for new buildings, so they determine how airtight a home is and how much energy it uses.
A more airtight home has lower utility bills, fewer drafty rooms, and better protection against extreme heat or cold, which is critical if the power goes out.
Fowler: “If you lose power, how long do you have in your home before it becomes uncomfortable, and more importantly, unsafe?”
Eric Fowler is director of building performance at Fresh Energy, a Minnesota nonprofit.
He says enacting stricter building codes is also a valuable way to cut carbon emissions – especially as federal rollbacks slow the transition away from burning fossil fuels for energy.
Fowler: “What we can do is make sure that our homes are sipping rather than guzzling that energy. And even if the price of energy is going up, we can make sure that the bill that we get at the end of the month is as minimal as possible.”
Reporting credit: ChavoBart Digital Media. Thanks to the Midwest Climate Resilience Conference for logistical support.
