Steven Nadel, the executive director of the American Council for Energy-Efficient Economy, is pushing for the Federal Housing Finance Agency to require new homes with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to be built to up-to-date energy codes.
Writing in the ACEEE’s newsletter, Nadal said there have been a series of important efficiency actions from federal agencies, such as new standards for water heaters and other appliances, updated requirements for new federally backed homes, and the launch of several programs created by the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act.
Nadel noted that FHFA Director Sandra Thompson, in a U.S. Senate hearing in April, said her agency was undertaking an analysis on the issue, that it was a “priority,” and that she expected to take a next step by the end of June.
Nadel, who said that date came and went without action, is encourage folks to send messages encouraging FHFA to act.
“Inaction by FHFA would mean continued construction of inefficient new homes in many states across the country with severely outdated codes,” he wrote.
