Here’s an interesting assessment of the success or otherwise of Victoria (Australia) energy efficiency standards for houses.
Despite the doomsayers’ predictions, “Compliance costs in terms of upgraded building design and construction not only fell below original government estimates, but also progressively diminished over time as anticipated industry learning processes kicked in. Concerns about negative impacts on housing affordability were therefore not substantiated, and there was no evidence of negative impacts on Victoria’s housing market.”
On the other hand design was a weak point. “While the average rating of new homes actually exceeded the five-star minimum by a clear margin at building permit stage, design responses to the performance-based requirements were sub-optimal. Building designs were brought into compliance through the shortcut of re-specifying existing designs rather than actually re-designing homes to take advantage of the performance-based code.”
