Photo of a city skyline of office buildings, with an apartment complex in the foreground.

An estimated 75% of U.S. buildings will be new or renovated by 2035. Building energy codes ensure they use energy efficiently over the life of the building.

The Building Technologies Office (BTO) supports the development and implementation of residential and commercial building energy codes by engaging with government and industry stakeholders, and by providing technical assistance for code development, adoption, and compliance. Through advancing building codes, we aim to improve building energy efficiency, and to help states achieve maximum savings. For more information, visit energycodes.gov.

The Building Energy Codes Program

  • Assesses the savings impacts of model energy codes, calculating energy, cost and carbon savings
  • Coordinates with key stakeholders to improve model energy codes, including architects, engineers, builders, code officials, and a variety of other energy professionals
  • Reviews published codes to ensure increased energy savings, such as the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and Standard 90.1
  • Tracks the status of energy code adoption across the U.S. and provides technical assistance to states implementing updated codes
  • Provides a variety of educational and training resources and assists states working to measure and improve code compliance
  • Administers a Help Desk to assist individual code users with questions about energy codes

Building Energy Codes High-Level Overview

Building Energy Codes Fact Sheet

DOE Energy Codes Website