Trump admin could undermine energy efficiency with dubious new analysis

The Department of Energy has released a new analysis of the model building code used across the country, and it leaves out something important: how much homeowners save on energy bills. The code in question, the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), gets updated every three years and has cut energy use in new homes by half since the 1970s. Most states adopt it or a version of it. The DOE says moving every state to the 2024 version of the code, instead of a 20-year-old one, would add $9.2 billion a year in construction costs nationwide. But past DOE studies, under both parties, have always weighed those upfront costs against long-term savings — and this one didn't.

Other research tells a different story. A Department of Energy national lab found that homes built to the 2024 code save an average of nearly $3,000 over their lifetime compared to the 2021 code, with some regions seeing savings closer to $9,500. For someone paying cash for a home, the extra cost typically pays for itself in about 2.5 years; for someone with a mortgage, combined home and utility payments can come out ahead within a single year.

The new analysis also compares the 2024 code to a 2006 version that almost no state still uses — 49 states have already adopted something more current. This matters for homeowners because the findings could discourage states still weighing whether to adopt the 2024 code, potentially affecting how energy-efficient new homes are in your area going forward.