The United States Department of Energy (DOE) claims that the nationwide adoption of the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) would increase housing costs and burden American families with what officials are labeling “costly ‘Green New Scam’ mandates”—a political catchphrase meant to disparage the Green New Deal.
Officials say the 2024 IECC would increase residential construction costs by roughly $9.2 billion annually compared to 2006 code levels. Single-family homes would increase by around $14,000 under the IECC updates, per DOE. Most states use the IECC as the basis for residential building codes, often incorporating amendments or creating their own versions with stricter or more relaxed requirements.
“This analysis shows how unnecessary regulations and ineffective building codes have drastically increased housing costs with little to no benefit for homeowners or communities,” says Audrey Robertson, assistant secretary of energy. “An average payback period of 11 years—as long as 22 years in some cases—for new residential building codes is unacceptable. Standard-setting bodies should take note: we prioritize the American homeowner and will not allow erroneous building requirements to push homeownership out of reach.”
A review in 2024 by the Federal Register found that buildings meeting the 2024 IECC, as compared with buildings meeting the 2021 IECC, would result in national site energy savings of 7.8%, source energy savings of 6.8% and energy cost savings of approximately 6.6% of residential building energy consumption. DOE notes, however, that current adopted state energy codes have driven up the cost of new construction by $70 billion since 2006. According to DOE officials, if the 2024 IECC is adopted by all U.S. states, it would further increase new construction costs by $57 billion compared to current state codes.
In response to DOE’s findings, the International Code Council states that “The Energy Department is completely contradicting its own findings. For nearly three decades, under Democratic and Republican administrations, after each new edition of the IECC, which is released every three years, DOE concluded that the code saved money and energy. A webpage that was recently removed showed that the adoption of the latest energy code will save U.S. homes and businesses $182 billion between 2010 and 2040.”
The department’s methodology is “a deep mystery,” ICC officials suggest.