Well-off consumers and regulators demand that the rest of America follow their climate and energy preferences. Most Americans shouldn’t have to listen to them.
Building codes are supposed to serve a simple function. They should assure buyers about the safety and functioning of a new home or apartment. Yet in recent years, building codes have become another front in the climate wars, with the government using them to reduce America’s energy use.
Many officials believe that home buyers refuse to recognize the energy costs of a new home, both for themselves and the planet. They think the government should use building codes to mandate energy efficiency requirements, from increased insulation to new types of framing. These mandates substantially drive up housing costs while bringing much lower energy savings than the government assumes.
In America, private associations issue model building codes that are updated every three years. State and local governments adopt these model codes and sometimes add their own requirements. In 2000, the largest of these private groups, the International Code Council, created the International Energy Conservation Code, or IECC, for those who wanted more energy-efficient homes.
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Judge Glock is the director of research and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor at City Journal.
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