The recently passed $1 trillion infrastructure bill, part of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan, has about $5 billion set aside for a wide range of programs to boost energy efficiency in buildings.
The money is geared to reduce electricity use in buildings, improve the materials used to build them, and train people to design, build, and maintain energy-efficient buildings. The funds are crucial for accelerating innovation in deep energy retrofits and building electrification, which are critical steps to reducing carbon emissions, green advocates say.
The lion’s share of funding focused on buildings is a $3.5 billion injection into the weatherization assistance program. Geared to dwellings owned or occupied by people with low incomes, the program provides money to upgrade residences with better insulation, windows, roofing, and heating and cooling devices.
A $225 million grant program is being established to help understaffed and underfunded local governments upgrade building codes. In the long run, this provision may be one of the bill’s most impactful measures.
Related Stories
| Apr 10, 2013
New skyscraper designs raising the bar on green standards
Though most new skyscraper designs have a traditional look, they are including a wider array of sustainable elements to use energy and water more efficiently and improve human health.
| Apr 5, 2013
Lack of national standards on design of bioterror labs creates higher risk for accidents, panel says
U.S. labs that conduct research on bioterror germs such as anthrax are at risk for accidents because they do not have uniform design and operation standards, according to a Congressional investigative group.
| Apr 5, 2013
Builders Hardware Manuf. Assn. revises three standards for hinges, locks, and latches
The Builders Hardware Manufacturers Association (BHMA) released three new revisions to the ANSI/BHMA standardsfor hinges, interconnected locks, and sliding and folding hardware.
| Apr 5, 2013
New items to ASHRAE/IES energy standard open for public comment
The 2013 version of the ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2010, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is scheduled for publication later this year, and 26 proposed addenda are open for public comment.
| Apr 5, 2013
No evidence that mandatory building energy labeling improves efficiency, study says
The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International and the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) released a report, “An Economic Perspective on Building Labeling Policies,” that questions the efficacy of mandatory building energy labeling.
| Mar 27, 2013
Practical application of Legionella prevention standards the focus of ASHRAE project
An American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers committee drafting tough new standards to prevent the waterborne bacteria Legionella is focused on how to apply the standards in the real world.
| Mar 27, 2013
Open discussion of regulations on tap at AGC’s 2013 Federal Contractors Conference
The AGC Federal Contractors Conference provides a venue for contractors and federal agency personnel to meet in a collaborative forum to review federal construction contracting issues from around the United States.
| Mar 27, 2013
New BACnet standard offers significant improvements to alarm handling
Changes to the newly published BACnet standard from ASHRAE will encourage smart building automation controls systems including alarms.
| Mar 27, 2013
CEIR releases tool that measures energy, environmental benefits of roof systems
The Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing (CEIR) released its new RoofPoint Energy and Carbon Calculator that is designed to help roofing professionals measure the energy and environmental benefits of modern roof system technologies.
| Mar 27, 2013
Sustainable wood controversy leads to LEED ‘backlash bill’ in Florida House
A Florida House bill that says state agencies should decide on a project-by-project basis which green certification standards are used on state construction passed a subcommittee vote 12-1.