The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told Congress that its members are committed to encouraging greater energy efficiency in housing throughout the U.S. and strongly believe that a voluntary, market-driven approach is the best way to address the nation's residential energy concerns, not Congress federalizing the state building code process.

"Because the structural and efficiency needs vary greatly for homes built in Florida or New York, versus homes built in Oregon or New Mexico, for example, it is crucial that the code process remains open, is based entirely upon consensus and is protected from overarching encroachment by any federal agency," said Frank Thompson, a Pennsylvania home builder, said in testimony before the House Small Business Committee. "Establishing mandatory benchmarks and rigorous federal oversight for state building codes would subvert the consensus-code development process, violate states' rights and impose unwanted and exorbitant costs on home buyers."

Under current law, building codes must be approved and adopted at the state and local level. Thompson urged lawmakers to remove a provision in energy bill H.R. 3221 that would create a new code-writing role for the Department Of Energy for states that fail to achieve significant above-code benchmarks. Thompson also called on Congress to extend and expand federal tax credits that passed as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, noting that this would encourage the construction of new energy efficient homes, promote the use of energy-saving home improvements for existing homes and spur new innovation that will result in even greater energy savings in housing construction.

"Congress should be promoting voluntary energy efficiency programs, extending tax incentives for highly efficient new home construction and protecting housing affordability from arbitrary building code increases when adopting new energy policy," said Thompson.

Congress and the Federal Government appear to agree with Thompson when they created the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). This body was created to:

• strengthen America's energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality in public-private partnerships that enhance energy efficiency and productivity.

• bring clean, reliable and affordable energy technologies to the marketplace.

• make a difference in the everyday lives of Americans by enhancing their energy choices and their quality of life.

According to the EERE, the typical U.S. family spends $1,300 a year on home energy bills, and some of that energy is wasted. Heating, ventilating and air conditioning units are inefficient, windows leak conditioned air, and appliances devour energy.

"NAHB members, who collectively build about 80 percent of all the new homes in the U.S., have been engaged in several public-private partnerships and have sponsored many residential energy events and programs to bring public awareness to residential energy efficiency," said Thompson, adding that NAHB is a proud partner with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy's (DOE) Energy Star® Home Program, which, to date, has resulted in the construction of more than 500,000 homes built to standards that exceed the local building code.

NAHB also participates in DOE's Building America Program, which conducts systems engineering research to produce homes that consume 30 to 90 percent less energy on a community-wide basis; integrates Zero Energy Home technology and power systems; and boosts productivity with new, innovative energy-saving materials and technology.

"Most importantly, NAHB members have taken the lead to develop the first National Green Building Standard for residential construction that is approved and accredited by the American National Standards Institute," said Thompson.

Across the nation, savvy homeowners and home builders are demonstrating that energy-smart building choices can help homeowners save on energy bills and, at the same time, give homebuilders a competitive advantage.