Market Data + Trends Housing starts rise 2.8 percent in March Nationwide housing production rose 2.8 percent above an upwardly revised February rate of 920,000 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 946,000 units in March.
Codes + Standards New LEED for Homes interpretations published Fifteen new interpretations clarify rules for claiming recycled content and energy savings for garage ventilation, among others.
Market Data + Trends Builder confidence holds steady in April Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes rose one point on the Housing Market Index to 47 in April.
Codes + Standards ASTM’s International Standards in Building Codes now available in DVD and online The documents contain more than 1,300 construction specifications, practices, and test methods.
Codes + Standards Evanston, Ill., regains favorable insurance rating after improving code enforcement The city joins 20 percent of 8,500 communities participating in the rating program with a rating of four or better.
Codes + Standards New Calif. energy code requires thermostats to be ready for two-way energy management Title 24 code revisions will also apply to HVAC systems and building automation systems, among others
Codes + Standards Incentives, leasing policies driving PV installations in New York State went from seventh to fifth overall in number of solar jobs in 2013
Codes + Standards Honda, UC Davis build ‘Smart Home’ that generates surplus energy The home is expected to generate 2.6 megawatt-hours of surplus per year
Codes + Standards White roofs outperform green roofs in reducing heat-island effect, says Lawrence Berkeley Lab A new report says white roofs are three times more effective than green roofs for cooling
Codes + Standards Falling PV costs making subsidies unnecessary in Europe Solar installations grew by one-third in 77 U.S. communities in 2013
