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Improving building performance standards in buildings can lead to significant energy savings
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Improving building performance standards in buildings can lead to significant energy savings
Most of current building stock in the US is decades out of date of the most efficient and cost-saving housing technology. Policy solutions beyond building codes need to be developed to modernise and save energy.
Giulia Leghissa
The median age of U.S. homes is 39 years old, meaning that the current building stock is quite old in terms of efficient housing technologies. In order to improve energy efficiency, sustainability, housing technologies, and eventually save energy, it is essential to modernise existing buildings. In particular, the saving potential would be of 30% of the total annual electricity spending in the US and would also create thousands of jobs.
To do so, governments are pursuing mandatory policies, such as the buildings performance standard (BPS), which specifies performance thresholds which need to be met by the building´s owners in particular times during major renovations. The benefits of BPS are: optimisation of energy use, protection and conservation of water, improved air quality, reduction of waste and air pollution, and creation of jobs.
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