Investigating the ability of 12 building standards to deliver resilient, healthy, and efficient buildings.

The different industries are rapidly converging towards a single energy vector – electricity. By 2023, 1 of every three cars sold in America is expected to be electric. At the same time, there is a big push for buildings to become all-electric, including a wide adoption of heat pumps for heating, cooling, and domestic hot water.

Building standards such as Passive House, EnergyStar, and Net Zero enable buildings to meet better performance than they would if they only complied with minimum building code requirements. That is, in terms of energy efficiency, embodied carbon, and building quality (i.e. thermal comfort, indoor air quality, resilience, and durability).

This research project evaluated the impact of different building standards over 50 single-family projects in different US regions, from hot and humid Texas to the cold and dry Rocky Mountains.

This report investigates: 2018 IECC, 2021 IECC, 2024 IECC, California Title 24, EnergyStar v3.2, DOE Zero Energy Ready Home, Pretty Good House, 2015 Phius+, 2018 Phius+ Core, 2021 Phius+ Core, 2021 Phius+ Core Prescriptive, PHI Low Energy Building, and PHI Passive House.

The intent is to allow building owners, project teams, and policymakers to compare building standards as apples to apples and make informed decisions.

Continuing Education Units (CEUS) submitted 1 hour in*

Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI)
Building Performance Institute (BPI) NonWholeHouse
Submitted for American Institute of Architects – AIA (HSW)
Certified Green Professional (NARI & CGP)
Certified GreenHome Professional (CGHP) Pillar(s): Energy, Health, Materials, Water, Place
American Institute of Building Designers (AIBD)
State Architect / Builder License may be applicable Building Science Institute (BSI) Verifier
Passive House Consultant US (CPHC)
Society of American Registered Architects (SARA)

Speaker: Enrico Bonilauri

Enrico holds two Masters Degrees — one in Architecture from the University of Parma, Italy, and one in Sustainable Design from the University of Sydney, Australia. As a registered Italian Architect and Certified Passive House Trainer, Designer, and PHI Certifier, he has worked in Australia, Europe, and North America. He specializes in building envelope analysis, informed by the thousands of hours spent on construction sites. Speaker experience includes conferences in Germany, Austria, China, US, Canada, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand. He’s the Co-Founder of Emu and has been the scientific curator of their Passive House training curriculum, teaching American builders since 2017.

Lessons Learned

– Review the energy building performance standards that decarbonize hour housing under consideration in the report.
– Describe key performance indicators, including decarbonization and health, compared in the 50 homes across each standard.
– Understand the welfare gained to homeowners in the results of the report when comparing standards and performance indicators.
– Analyze key factors driving these results and how practitioners may utilize this awareness to improve buildings.

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