New Homes Standard Protocol

At a Glance

Status

active

Fuel type

dual fuel

Sector

residential

Applications

new construction

Sunset date

Jul 31, 2031

This protocol supports programs in estimating electric and gas savings from efficient new homes using a method that aligns with existing home energy rating methods and state residential energy codes. New homes can achieve improved efficiency from high-efficiency HVAC, high-efficiency water heating, high-efficiency appliances, improved building shell characteristics, and improved duct characteristics. Energy consumption of program homes and current practice homes is estimated on a whole-house basis, using the simulated performance of program homes and their code-level counterparts and then adjusting these consumption values to reflect relationships between simulated and actual consumption as observed in regional evaluations.

Standard Protocols

Latest Version

New Homes Standard Protocol v4.0

New Homes Standard Protocol v4.0

Approved at the July 2026 RTF meeting. Undergoing QA.

Date

Jul 23, 2026

Version number

4.0

Past Versions

version	date	document
3.1	Apr 21, 2022	New Homes Standard Protocol v3.1 Protocol approved at the February 2022 RTF meeting. QC review complete. Associated with v3.1 of the calculator.
3.0	Feb 28, 2022	New Home Standard Protocol v3.0 Protocol approved at the February 2022 RTF meeting. Associated with v3.0 of the calculator. Currently undergoing QC.
2.1	Nov 18, 2020	New Homes Standard Protocol v2.1 Protocol approved at the October 2020 RTF meeting. QC review complete. This is associated with version 2.1 of the calculator.
2.0	Oct 23, 2020	New Homes Standard Protocol v2.0 Approved at the October 2020 RTF meeting. Associated with version 2.0 of the calculator. Currently undergoing QC.
1.1	Feb 03, 2017	NewHomesProtocol_v1.1.docx Updates correct mis-interpretations of WA code that were noted at the December RTF meeting; changes were described in management updates at the January RTF meeting.
1.0	Dec 14, 2016	NewHomesProtocol_v1.0.docx Version approved by the RTF. Associated with the version 1.0 Calculator.

Calculator

Latest Version

New Home Standard Protocol Calculator v4.0

Approved at the July 2026 RTF meeting. Undergoing QA

Date

Jul 23, 2026

Version number

4.0

Past Versions

version	date	document
3.1	Apr 21, 2022	New Home Standard Protocol Calculator v3.1 Approved at the February 2022 RTF meeting, Associated with version 3.1 of the protocol. QC complete.
3.0	Feb 28, 2022	New Home Standard Protocol Calculator v3.0 Approved at the February 2022 RTF meeting, Associated with version 3.0 of the protocol. Currently undergoing QC.
2.1	Nov 18, 2020	New Homes Standard Protocol Calculator v2.1 Calculator in support of protocol approved at October 2020 meeting. QC review complete. Associated with version 2.1 of the protocol.
2.0	Oct 23, 2020	New Homes Standard Protocol Calculator v2.0 Approved at the October 2020 RTF meeting. Corresponds with protocol version 2.0. Currently undergoing QC.
1.1	Feb 03, 2017	RTF_NewHomes_StdProtocol_Calculator_v1.1.xlsx QC review complete.
1.0	Dec 14, 2016	RTF_NewHomes_StdProtocol_Calculator_v1.0.xlsx Version approved by the RTF at the December 6, 2016 Meeting. Currently undergoing QC.

Decisions

Expand All Decisions

Latest decision

Approve updates to the New Homes Standard Protocol as presented, including:

the Recommendations
updating the Protocol Document and Calculator to align with the RTF's decision
setting the sunset date to September 2024

Decided

January 26, 2022

Extend Sunset Date

Decision Details

Extend the sunset date of the New Homes Standard Protocol to March 2022.

Decided

October 06, 2020

Approved Standard Protocol Updates

Decision Details

Approve the updates to the New Homes Standard Protocol as presented, including:

Accept the component UES updates as presented
Continue using REM with no back-end adjustments to HVAC savings until informative evaluation results are available
Set the Sunset Date to January 2022

Decided

September 09, 2020

Extend Sunset Date

Decision Details

Extend the sunset date for the New Homes Standard Protocol to October 2020.

Decided

June 23, 2020

Extend Sunset Dates

Decision Details

Extend the sunset dates for the New Homes Standard Protocol and School Weatherization UES measures to September 2020.

Decided

December 17, 2019

Extend Sunset Date

Decision Details

Extend the sunset date for the following measures to June 2020:

Efficient Pumps UES
New Homes Standard Protocol
Multifamily Weatherization UES
School Weatherization UES

Decided

December 06, 2016

Adopt Standard Protocol

Decision Details

Adopt the New Homes Standard Protocol as presented and:

Confirm interpretation of building codes and adjust analysis as needed
Set status to "Active"
Set Sunset Date to December 31, 2019

Decided

February 18, 2015

Allocate resources to measure development

Decision Details

Allocate RTF Staff resources towards developing:A Residential Low E Storm Windows UES measure, and A Residential Duct Insulation UES mesure, and A Residential Prescriptive Air Sealing UES measure, and A Non-Residential Lighting Code Compliant Standard Protocol, and A Next Step Homes measure.