How the U.S. Is Breaking the Link Between Energy Use and Economic Growth

There’s growing evidence the American economy has severed the link between energy use and economic growth, and that energy efficiency efforts are a key part.

While the United States has no uniform national code for how buildings use energy, codes are adopted by state and municipal governments.  The most widely used is the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), which is put together and updated in cycles every few years by a non-profit coalition.  The Department of Energy does give input into how the code is updated, and helps coordinate its adoption.

According to the Energy Efficiency Codes Coalition, an advocacy group put together in 2007 to push the IECC in a more ambitious direction, the last two updates improved efficiency in the code by 30 percent.

How the U.S. Is Breaking the Link Between Energy Use and Economic Growth