Recently, the California Energy Commission unanimously adopted a new standard for building energy efficiency in 2013. In response to the energy-saving requirements of California residential and commercial buildings, the standard has formulated energy-saving regulations for roofing, heat preservation, lighting, ventilation, lighting systems and other aspects. The standard will be implemented on January 1, 2014.

The new standard requires California's newly-built residential and commercial roofs to meet the requirements of directly installing solar photovoltaic systems in the future, so as to make full preparations for installing solar photovoltaic systems on roofs in the future. Thermal insulation materials should be used for the outer layer of hot water pipes in residential buildings to save water and energy. At the same time, the thermal insulation effect of windows should be enhanced while the thermal insulation of residential walls and lighting should be enhanced. In addition, cold roofing technology should be used for commercial buildings.

According to the California Energy Commission, although the standard will increase the construction cost of each household by an average of $2290, it can save households more than $6200 in energy expenditures over 30 years. According to the 30-year expenditure budget, this standard will increase the average household's monthly expenditure by 11 US dollars, but it will save consumers 27 US dollars per month in heating, cooling and electricity purchase costs. After 30 years of implementation of the standard, California will save nearly 14000 degrees of electricity, which can meet the electricity consumption of 1.7 million households and save the need to build six new power stations.

One of the driving factors for the introduction of the standard is the California government's goal of achieving "zero external energy supply" for new residential buildings by 2020 and commercial buildings by 2030. "External zero energy supply" means that new buildings should achieve 100% self-sufficiency in energy consumption through improved energy efficiency and new energy strategies.