How Much Energy Do Building Energy Codes Save? Evidence from California Houses
评估加州自1978年实施的建筑节能规范的实际节能效果，发现三种方法估算的能源节省均显著低于法规制定时的预期。
Regulations governing the energy efficiency of new buildings have become a cornerstone of US environmental policy. California enacted the first such codes in 1978 and has tightened them every few years since. I evaluate the resulting energy savings three ways: comparing energy used by houses constructed under different standards, controlling for building and occupant characteristics; examining how energy use varies with outdoor temperatures; and comparing energy used by houses of different vintages in California to that same difference in other states. All three approaches yield estimated energy savings significantly short of those projected when the regulations were enacted.