The EPA is launching ENERGY STAR® NextGen™ Certification for New Homes and Apartments, with developers and utilities in Maryland leading the implementation effort.
Energy consumption can represent a large share of housing costs for homeowners and residents nationally. In an effort to increase efficiency and lower utility bills, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is launching the ENERGY STAR® NextGen™ Certified Homes and Apartments, a voluntary, leading-edge certification program for the nation’s residential new construction sector. ENERGY STAR NextGen will increase energy and emissions savings by accelerating the building industry’s adoption of advanced, energy-efficient technologies.
Building on the 30-year legacy of the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program, the ENERGY STAR NextGen certification will recognize homes and apartments with increased energy efficiency, reduced on-site emissions through heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, electric cooking appliances, and residential electric vehicle charging. Compared to typical code-level construction, homes earning the ENERGY STAR NextGen certification will be 20% more efficient and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40%–80%.
In Maryland, early adopters include developers and utilities that have begun to either build to the ENERGY STAR NextGen specification or incentivize adoption of the specification.
- Beazer Homes (Maryland home builder)
- EmPOWER Maryland, including Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), Potomac Electric Power Company (Pepco), and Potomac Edison (PE) (Maryland utilities)
Energy used in commercial and residential buildings accounts for one-third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. An EPA study last fall estimated that these same buildings have the potential to cut their emissions by up to 63% by 2030 and up to 70% by 2035. By encouraging efficient electric technologies, the new ENERGY STAR NextGen certification can play an important role in achieving this goal.
