In 2023, EPA’s ENERGY STAR program will launch a new certification program for new homes. The “ENERGY STAR NextGen Certified Homes and Apartments” program is a mostly prescriptive program with five requirements, which basically require the new home to be all-electric. The five required elements include:
- Highly efficient building shell – 10% more efficient than required by the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (meeting ENERGY STAR 3.2 requirements),
- Multi-speed ENERGY STAR heat pump,
- ENERGY STAR connected heat pump water heater,
- An induction cooktop and electric oven, and
- EV-charging capability
This new program is an additional level of recognition for homes and apartments that go beyond the core ENERGY STAR residential new construction program requirements/recognition. As utilities begin to offer incentives to new home developers/builders to achieve the NextGen certification, this should help accelerate voluntary efforts to build more all-electric new homes.
The requirements for the NextGen program have already been finalized, but the program will be launched in 2023, after Energy Star develops the guidance documents, reporting templates, etc.
You can learn more about this new program here.
