Efficient Homes and Buildings

Inefficient, leaky buildings cost Mainers due to higher electricity and heating bills. Heating, cooling, and lighting homes and buildings are responsible for almost one-third of Maine’s greenhouse gas pollution. 

For decades, energy efficiency has been proven to be one of the least expensive ways to lower energy costs, increase comfort, and reduce pollution. The cheapest kilowatt-hour is the one that’s never used, as the saying goes.   

NRCM supports policies that encourage modernizing homes and businesses to use cleaner energy, increase energy efficiency, and utilize lower-carbon building materials that can enhance the health and prosperity of Maine people.

Energy Efficiency Programs for Homeowners and Businesses

NRCM, alongside many partners, helped to establish Efficiency Maine in 2009. Since then, the Trust has been widely recognized for its conservation success, ranked among the top in the nation for programs that help save Maine homes and businesses billions of dollars in energy costs through heat pumps, weatherization, and more efficient appliances.     

Efficiency Maine runs a variety of rebate and incentive programs to help residents and local businesses adopt cleaner, more efficient technology for their homes and buildings.

Their programs help people invest in weatherization, heat pumps, energy-efficient appliances, and other solutions that reduce costs while increasing comfortable. Visit the Efficiency Maine website to learn more.

Updated Building Energy Codes

Modernizing Maine’s outdated building energy codes, also known as the Maine Uniform Building Energy CODE (MUBEC), are one of the most cost-effective and easiest pathways to addressing the high cost of energy use and negative health impacts of carbon pollution in Maine. In 2025, updated building codes went into effect to encourage energy efficiency.

The Opportunity of Beneficial Electrification

A new opportunity called “Beneficial Electrification” has the potential to improve the quality of life for residents across our state. Here’s how it works in a nutshell.

New electric heating and cooking appliances and technologies are much more efficient than oil and gas furnaces or boilers at getting the same result. For example, heat pumps transfer heat instead of creating it, meaning they can turn one unit of energy input into three to four units of heat in a home or business. Newer induction stoves heat pots and pans directly through magnetism, losing less heat to the surrounding air.   

Because of this, operating electric appliances is usually cheaper for households and businesses, as well as more efficient.

Energy Efficiency Reduces Maine’s Energy Costs

Energy efficiency saves money for all electricity customers. Energy savings reduce the dollars we send out of state for fuel. These dollars get spent in the Maine economy instead. Efficiency helps reduce peak demand, which also provides savings to all ratepayers. The more we can use energy efficiency to replace expensive oil, gas, and electricity, the lower Maine’s energy bills will be.