Skip to main content

PNNL

  • About
  • News & Media
  • Careers
  • Events
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
      • Biology
        • Computational Biology
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Human Health
          • Cancer Biology
          • Metabolic Inflammatory Diseases
        • Integrative Omics
          • Advanced Metabolomics
          • Chemical Biology
          • Mass Spectrometry-Based Measurement Technologies
          • Spatial and Single-Cell Proteomics
        • Microbiome Science
          • Biofuels & Bioproducts
          • Human Microbiome
          • Soil Microbiome
          • Synthetic Biology
      • Chemistry
        • Catalysis
        • Chemical Physics
      • Earth & Coastal Sciences
        • Atmospheric Science
          • Atmospheric Aerosols
          • Human-Earth System Interactions
          • Modeling Earth Systems
        • Coastal Science
        • Ecosystem Science
        • Plant Science
        • Subsurface Science
        • Terrestrial Aquatics
      • Materials Sciences
        • Materials in Extreme Environments
        • Precision Materials by Design
        • Science of Interfaces
        • Solid Phase Processing
      • Nuclear & Particle Physics
        • Dark Matter
        • Flavor Physics
        • Fusion Energy Science
        • Neutrino Physics
      • Quantum Information Sciences
    • Sustainable Energy
      • Electric Grid Modernization
        • Distribution
        • Emergency Response
        • Grid Analytics
          • AGM Program
          • Tools and Capabilities
        • Grid Architecture
        • Grid Cybersecurity
        • Grid Energy Storage
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
          • Earth System Modeling
          • Energy System Modeling
        • Transmission
      • Energy Efficiency
        • Appliance and Equipment Standards
        • Building Energy Codes
        • Building Technologies
          • Advanced Building Controls
          • Advanced Lighting
          • Building-Grid Integration
        • Building and Grid Modeling
        • Commercial Buildings
        • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
        • Federal Buildings
          • Federal Performance Optimization
          • Resilience and Security
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
        • Residential Buildings
          • Building America Solution Center
          • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
          • Home Energy Score
      • Energy Storage
        • Chemical Energy Storage
        • Electrochemical Energy Storage
        • Flexible Loads and Generation
        • Grid Integration, Controls, and Architecture
        • Regulation, Policy, and Valuation
        • Science Supporting Energy Storage
      • Environmental Management
        • Environmental Remediation
        • Radiation Measurement
        • Waste Processing
      • Fossil Energy
        • Advanced Hydrocarbon Conversion
        • Carbon Management
          • Carbon Capture
          • Carbon Storage
          • Carbon Utilization
        • Subsurface Energy Systems
      • Nuclear Energy
        • Advanced Reactors
        • Fuel Cycle Research
        • Reactor Licensing
        • Reactor Operations
      • Renewable Energy
        • Energy Equity & Health
        • Geothermal Energy
        • Grid Integration of Renewable Energy
        • Hydropower
          • Environmental Performance of Hydropower
          • Hydropower Cybersecurity and Digitalization
          • Hydropower and the Electric Grid
          • Materials Science for Hydropower
          • Pumped Storage Hydropower
          • Water + Hydropower Planning
        • Marine Energy
          • Environmental Monitoring for Marine Energy
          • Marine Biofouling and Corrosion
          • Marine Energy Resource Characterization
          • Testing for Marine Energy
          • The Blue Economy
        • Solar Energy
        • Wind Energy
          • Distributed Wind
          • Offshore Wind
          • Uncertainty Quantification
          • Wildlife and Wind
          • Wind Data Archive and Portal
          • Wind Resource Characterization
      • Transportation
        • Bioenergy Technologies
          • Algal Biofuels
          • Aviation Biofuels
          • Waste-to-Energy and Products
        • Hydrogen & Fuel Cells
        • Vehicle Technologies
          • Emission Control
          • Energy-Efficient Mobility Systems
          • Lightweight Materials
          • Vehicle Electrification
    • National Security
      • Chemical & Biothreat Signatures
        • Contraband Detection
        • Explosives Detection
        • Pathogen Science & Detection
          • Threat-Agnostic Biodefense
      • Cybersecurity
        • Discovery and Insight
        • Proactive Defense
        • Trusted Systems
      • Nuclear Material Science
      • Nuclear Nonproliferation
        • Global Nuclear & Radiological Security
        • Nuclear Explosion Monitoring
        • Nuclear Forensics
        • Radiological & Nuclear Detection
        • Ultra-Sensitive Nuclear Measurements
      • Stakeholder Engagement
        • Disaster Recovery
        • Global Collaborations
        • Legislative and Regulatory Analysis
        • Technical Training
      • Systems Integration & Deployment
        • Additive Manufacturing
        • Deployed Technologies
        • Rapid Prototyping
        • Systems Engineering
      • Threat Analysis
        • Advanced Wireless Security
          • 5G Security
          • RF Signal Detection & Exploitation
        • Climate Security
        • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
        • Internet of Things
    • Data Science & Computing
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Graph and Data Analytics
      • Software Engineering
      • Computational Mathematics & Statistics
      • High-Performance Computing
      • Visual Analytics
    • Lab Objectives
    • Publications & Reports
    • Featured Research
  • People
    • Inventors
    • Diversity
    • Lab Leadership
    • Lab Fellows
    • Staff Accomplishments
  • Partner with PNNL
    • Academia
      • Distinguished Graduate Research Programs
      • Internships
      • Visiting Faculty Program
      • Joint Appointments
      • Joint Institutes
      • Linus Pauling Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship
      • Minority-serving Institutions
    • Community
      • STEM Education
        • Resources
        • Student STEM Ambassadors
        • STEM Ambassadors in the Classroom
      • Philanthropy
      • Volunteering
    • Industry
      • Available Technologies
      • Industry
      • Industry Partnerships
      • Licensing & Technology Transfer
      • Entrepreneurial Leave
  • Facilities & Centers
    • All Facilities
      • Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility
      • Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center
      • Energy Sciences Center
      • Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
      • Grid Storage Launchpad
      • Institute for Integrated Catalysis
      • Interdiction Technology and Integration Laboratory
      • PNNL Seattle Research Center
      • PNNL-Sequim
      • Radiochemical Processing Laboratory
      • Shallow Underground Laboratory

Breadcrumb

  1. Research
  2. Sustainable Energy
  3. Energy Efficiency
  4. Building Energy Codes

Building Energy Codes

Better building through energy efficiency

PNNL supports the development of model codes by participating in the established industry processes.

Alex Wong

  • Electric Grid Modernization
  • Energy Efficiency
    • Appliance and Equipment Standards
    • Building Energy Codes
    • Building Technologies
    • Building and Grid Modeling
    • Commercial Buildings
    • Energy Efficient Technology Integration
    • Federal Buildings
    • Grid Resilience and Decarbonization
    • Residential Buildings
  • Energy Storage
  • Environmental Management
  • Fossil Energy
  • Nuclear Energy
  • Renewable Energy
  • Transportation
  • News & Updates
  • Publications
  • Explainer Articles

Over the next 30 years, energy codes for residential and commercial buildings are expected to save $126 billion nationwide.

Designers and builders can improve energy efficiency with building energy codes, which regulate 80 percent of a building’s energy load. By making energy use an early design focus, energy codes create longstanding savings and can reduce environmental impacts.

PNNL’s role with building energy codes

PNNL is the lead support for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office’s Building Energy Codes Program (BECP). PNNL supports the development of model codes by participating in the established industry processes. Specifically, PNNL supports updating and implementing the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1 and the International Energy Conservation Code. Our staff also supports the development of state and jurisdictional codes as requested. In addition to development, PNNL provides technical assistance for code implementation (adoption and compliance) to states and jurisdictions that have adopted or are considering adopting codes.

PNNL’s role ranges from technical analyses supporting development of energy codes to creating, maintaining, and supporting tools such as REScheck and COMcheck. This is the software that tens of thousands of projects use annually to demonstrate compliance with the energy code.

PNNL relies on established methodologies to quantify the energy and economic impacts of adoption and compliance at both the national and state levels. States use the state-specific results to inform state deliberations. Researchers at PNNL track the adoption status of the national model codes at the state and local level, including assessing the impacts of amendments states make to the energy codes. BECP also supports states validating compliance with their codes and quantifying associated impacts in the field.

Additional technical assistance is provided through education and training programs, leveraging empirical data to help states identify successes, challenges, and key workforce training opportunities. These training programs lead to professional licensing, certification and training jobs, and help the workforce adapt to new technologies and practices.

Recent News

AUGUST 4, 2022
Staff Accomplishment

Liu Appointed to Task Force for Building Decarbonization

Read
Bing Liu portrait
AUGUST 1, 2022
Staff Accomplishment

Ye Earns ASHRAE’s Homer Addams Award

Read
Yunyang Ye
JULY 5, 2022
Staff Accomplishment

Brambley Earns ASHRAE Honor

Read
Michael Brambley and a packaged air conditioner at PNNL.
SEE MORE RELATED NEWS

Facilities

Advanced Building Controls Laboratory Environmental Chambers Lab Homes

Related Divisions

Electricity Infrastructure and Buildings Division

Contacts

Dennis Stiles
Sector Lead, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
dennis.stiles@pnnl.gov
Shannon Bates
Advisor
shannon.bates@pnnl.gov

Related Links

What are Green Buildings?

PNNL

  • Get in Touch
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Doing Business
    • Environmental Reports
    • Security & Privacy
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Program
  • Research
    • Scientific Discovery
    • Sustainable Energy
    • National Security
Subscribe to PNNL News
Department of Energy Logo Battelle Logo
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is managed and operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy
  • YouTube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn