New Energy Future News

Illinois Moves Ahead With Vital Energy Efficiency Standards for New Homes

New standards will save Illinois families on energy costs, reduce carbon emissions, and decrease energy waste in new homes 

Springfield, IL – On its last weekend of session, the Illinois General Assembly moved forward on key environmental legislation by passing energy efficiency standards for new homes.   

The product of years of negotiations, House Bill 3987—the Energy Efficient Building Act—brings Illinois in line with the latest International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) for new residential construction, updated automatically every three years.  The Energy Efficient Building Act represented an agreement between environmental groups, architects, and Illinois homebuilders.    

“From the time we first proposed this legislation years ago until today, awareness of the value of energy efficiency has grown significantly,“ said State Representative Julie Hamos (D-Evanston), long-time sponsor of this legislation.  “People across all sectors of the economy now recognize why this is such an important step to take.”   

The bill passed the House by an 89 to 28 margin on Sunday afternoon.  Just one day earlier, the bill passed the Senate by a 48 to 8 margin with Senate Assistant Majority Leader Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) serving as the sponsor and having led negotiations to improve the bill.   

Among the key supporters of the bill included the American Institute of Architects.  AIA-Illinois Executive Director Mike Waldinger stated that “architects know the design choices that are made with any building have a major impact on the energy used and utility costs.  The building sector has tremendous potential to change resource consumption and the amount of pollution. “

“Since residential buildings represent the biggest share of everything built, bringing homes into these efficiency standards is great news with lots of positive results to come.  AIA—Illinois is very proud to support this long-term and well-fought effort.”   

The environmental benefits of this legislation are significant.  10% of all energy used worldwide is used to power U.S. buildings, creating a tremendous burden on power plants nationwide—especially in Illinois, where carbon emissions from the electricity generation sector are up 53% since 1990.  But a 2007 study prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy found that having Illinois update to the latest IECC standards could reduce CO₂ emissions by 12.8 million tons by 2020. 

“Energy efficiency standards for new residential construction are a win-win for our environment and the economy,” said Brian Granahan of Environment Illinois.  “This legislation will put money in the pockets of new homeowners and help reduce our contribution to global warming.  We’re delighted that Illinois has taken this step forward and thank Representative Hamos and Senator Harmon for their leadership.”