Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
New Hampshire
Pushback on adopting new building energy codes in NH highlights climate, affordability tensions
New Hampshire is poised to update its building codes, the laws meant to keep homes and commercial buildings safe and comfortable.
But in the bill approaching Gov. Chris Sununu’s desk, the code that regulates the energy efficiency of new homes is set to stay at the 2018 version.
The energy conservation code has been the subject of a long-running debate in New Hampshire, intersecting with some of the state’s thorniest issues: the affordability of homes, the livability of our climate, and the cost of living.
Proponents of adopting the 2021 energy conservation code highlight that more efficient homes would help people reduce energy use, lowering monthly bills and reducing the climate-warming pollution that homes produce.
Federal agencies that insure mortgages adopted the codes after making the assessment that they won’t impact the affordability and availability of the housing they cover. Some studies have shown that households save money in more energy efficient homes, though updates do have an increased upfront cost.
The codes have faced strong opposition, particularly from New Hampshire’s chapter of the Home Builders Association. In keeping with years of work pushing back on energy efficiency efforts, that group has come out in force against the 2021 codes across the country.
In New Hampshire, the Home Builders Association has testified to lawmakers that the 2021 codes would raise the cost of building homes too much, arguing they would make new homes unaffordable. The numbers they cite, from a survey of a handful of builders in the state, are about five times higher than federal estimates of the cost of upgrades.
All told, the 2021 codes would make homes almost 10% more efficient than the previous codes from 2018. The past two model codes adopted by the International Code Council barely made efficiency improvements for residential buildings.
What the 2021 codes would do
The 2021 codes require efficiency improvements like more insulation and expanded testing for how much air leaks out of a building.
It could also improve the barriers that keep moisture out during the summer and in during the winter, said Paul Bemis, president of the state’s chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.
“An environment like New Hampshire varies quite dramatically,” he said. “Having a proper vapor barrier is key to indoor and human health.”
Lighting systems and their controls face new requirements, too.
Bemis is a proponent of the 2021 energy codes. He says the updates there are important to improving the indoor environment, since people spend 90% of their time indoors.
Federal officials have said the codes could help lower asthma rates and respiratory symptoms.
More efficient buildings also put less strain on the energy grid and draw less power from fossil fuels.
Buildings are responsible for about 40% of energy use in the United States, and account for around 35% of the carbon dioxide emissions that fuel warmer and wetter conditions in New Hampshire.
The 2021 codes, if implemented in New Hampshire, would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 660,000 metric tons over 30 years, according to a reportfrom the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy.
That’s the equivalent of taking about 157,000 cars off the road, or almost as much of an emissions reduction as closing two gas-fired power plants.
“Climate change is upon us. We need to do something to try to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere in the building sector,” Bemis said. “It’s a big task. It’s going to take many years to do it. But we need to start somewhere.”
The cost of the codes
When it comes to cost, there’s agreement on one thing: making homes more energy efficient costs money.
The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s study estimates the increase in the cost to build a home to the 2021 energy conservation code instead of the 2015 energy conservation code is around $4,000 for a single family home in New Hampshire. (New Hampshire currently uses the 2018 version of the code).
For multi-family apartment or condo buildings, the increased cost of construction would be between about $1,200 and $1,700 per unit.
The cost varies based on the design of the building and the part of the state it is in, with communities in colder areas facing higher costs.
The study says the average person in the state would pay about $400 more in down payments and other up-front costs and would have an annual mortgage increase of about $140.
Compared to the 2015 energy conservation code, the 2021 code would save a homeowner a bit more than $500 a year on energy bills, according to the study, leading to positive savings by the second year of homeownership.
But in testimony in front of state lawmakers, Matt Mayberry, the head of the New Hampshire Home Builders Association, estimated the upfront costs of building a home to the 2021 standards would be much higher, around $20,000.
“Housing is the number one issue facing the state of New Hampshire,” Mayberry said. “Everyone is touched by this. By staying with the 2018 energy codes, that produces energy efficient homes at affordable prices that people can maintain and can afford to stay in.”
Mayberry said he came to the $20,000 estimate by asking six home builders in the state how much they thought the new codes would cost to implement.
“You’re weaponizing these codes for societal agendas and political agendas, and that’s wrong,” he said. “We think you can decide the home you want to live in.”
Home builders would build homes to more energy efficient standards if customers want them, Mayberry said. But, he said, the association believes that should be up to individuals.
New Hampshire’s consumer advocate, Don Kreis, has expressed his support for the codes and their ability to save people money. In a column on his website, he notes the Home Builders Association supported a law that reinstated energy efficiency programs through the state’s utilities in 2022.
“New Hampshire’s home builders – or, at least, their trade association – are perfectly happy to champion energy efficiency (and make some money installing energy efficiency measures) when the costs are buried in people’s utility bills,” Kreis wrote. “They grow less enthusiastic when they have to reflect those costs directly in the prices they charge buyers of new homes.”
Ripple effects
Many of New Hampshire’s multi-family affordable housing buildings are already built to higher energy efficiency standards than the 2021 codes, said Ron Dapice, the head of New Hampshire Housing.
That organization helps first-time homebuyers with financing and works with developers to create affordable apartment buildings. Dapice hasn’t taken a position on what codes New Hampshire should adopt. But, he said, the state’s minimum standards don’t necessarily affect what kinds of affordable housing is being built.
“Most of these properties already exceed code requirements. Most of them are built to Energy Star standards. And the owners and contractors, I think, see the value long-term for affordable housing and keeping their operating costs as low as possible,” he said.
Dapice said the upfront cost of building more efficient buildings wouldn’t be borne by lower-income renters. Property managers set rents based on income, and Dapice said construction costs wouldn’t raise the gross rent – rent plus utilities – for folks living in those buildings. Landlords might pay for the utilities themselves, and raise the base rent instead.
If New Hampshire does not adopt the 2021 codes, the state will have different minimum standards than those adopted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Agriculture and the Veterans Administration.
The largest portion of homes affected by this change is likely to be those insured by the Federal Housing Administration. But the standards only apply to new construction, and Dapice said new construction homes are less likely to be purchased using FHA or USDA backed loans.
“It may not be an everyday occurrence if that type of buyer would be shut out of their financing options,” he said.
But if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were to adopt the 2021 codes, homeowners using conventional loans would also be subject to the new requirements.
“Then I think you could have a situation where buyers are, they want just a conventional loan and they can’t get it because their house isn’t built to the newest energy code,” Dapice said.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, says they are considering ways to support more energy efficiency and have been conducting outreach.
That agency has come under pressure from New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen to adopt the 2021 energy conservation code. In a letter earlier this year, she said those standards would improve health, reduce wasted energy and lower costs.
“Energy efficiency is the cheapest, fastest way to deal with our energy needs,” Shaheen said in an interview earlier this year. “If we’re going to address our long term energy needs, thinking about how we make those buildings more efficient is really important.”
What employers are getting wrong, and how to fix it before it becomes a claim
New Hampshire’s employment law landscape heading into 2026 may not be dramatically different from last year, but the real risks lie in implementation missteps. From the initial setting of wages, to calculating and distributing wages, employers will likely find a specific statute and/or labor regulation governing the transaction. Failure to follow these detailed wage and hour laws can result in significant back wages and other penalties being imposed by the state or federal Department of Labor following an audit. Fortunately, however, this area of employment law is relatively easy to master, once you are familiar with the basics.
Notice compliance
One of the most common pitfalls for employers in New Hampshire is misunderstanding the wage and hour notice requirements under RSA 275 and the related New Hampshire Department of Labor Administrative Rules.
At the time of hire, employers must notify employees in writing of their rate of pay and the day and place of payment. This notice is traditionally delivered to employees by way of an offer letter or some sort of “New Hire Rate of Pay” form. (A sample form is available from the New Hampshire Department of Labor website.) What surprises most employers, however, is that Lab. 803.03(f)(6) also requires employers to request and obtain their employees’ signatures on this written notification of wages, and employers must keep a copy of the signed written notification of wages on file. Further, employers must notify employees in writing during the course of employment of any changes to wages or day of pay prior to such changes taking effect, and the employer must obtain the employee’s signature on this subsequent notification as well. (See RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)
Employers are further required to notify employees in writing, or through a posted notice maintained in a place accessible to employees, of:
• employment practices and policies with regard to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits.
• deductions made from the employee’s payroll check, for each period such deductions are made.
• information regarding the deductions allowed from wage payments under state law. (RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)
Policies regarding vacation and sick leave should inform employees whether or not the employer will “cash out” unused time at year end or at the end of employment, and if so, under what terms. Again, if any changes are made to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits during the course of employment (all of which are considered “wages” under New Hampshire law), employers must request and obtain their employees’ signatures on the written notification of the change, and must keep a copy of the signed form on file. (Lab. 803.03.) Importantly, notification by way of pay stub alone is not sufficient, and, these requirements apply to both increases and decreases in pay.
Two-hour minimum (reporting pay)
Another frequently overlooked obligation is New Hampshire’s two-hour minimum reporting pay requirement. Under RSA 275:43-a, non-exempt employees who report to work but are sent home early must generally be paid for at least two hours. Weather-related closures, client cancellations or operational slowdown days can trigger this rule. Employers should also note that the New Hampshire Department of Labor currently applies this law to remote-based employees. Consequently, employees who “report to work” at an employer’s request from a home office may likewise have a right to two hours of pay, depending on the circumstances.
Salaried vs. hourly employees
Misclassification of employees as exempt from overtime remains a significant source of compliance exposure. The position’s job duties — not the titles or label such as “salaried” — determine whether an employee qualifies for an overtime exemption.
Employers, particularly in nonprofits, health care and small businesses, unintentionally misapply exempt classifications to roles such as administrative staff, office managers, executive assistants, program coordinators or hybrid jobs that involve significant non-exempt tasks. Over time, as organizational needs evolve and employees take on broader responsibilities, job duties can drift outside of an exemption’s scope.
Best practice is to periodically review job descriptions and actual job duties to ensure continued compliance with exemption criteria, particularly following any significant restructuring or job redesigns.
Peg O’Brien is chair of McLane Middleton’s Employment Law Practice Group. She can be reached at margaret.o’brien@mclane.com.
Local News
“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” said the family of the victim.
A new photo has been released of the victim in a nearly 30-year-long unsolved murder case, in the hope of finding any new potential witnesses in the cold case, New Hampshire officials said.
“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” the family of Rosalie Miller said in a press release. “We miss her and want to give her peace.”
Miller was last seen on December 8, 1996 at her apartment in Manchester. At the time of her disappearance, Miller had plans on meeting friends in the Auburn, New Hampshire area, officials said.
Her body was found on January 20, 1997 in a partially wooded spot on a residential lot along the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn, officials said in the release.
The autopsy report declared Miller’s death a homicide by asphyxiation due to ligature strangulation, N.H. officials wrote.
As part of a new effort to garner public help with the case, an “uncirculated” photo of Miller, 36, is being distributed “in hopes it may jog the memory of someone who saw or spoke with her in the winter of 1996,” Attorney General John M. Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark B. Hall announced on behalf of the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit in a joint press release.
Investigators are especially hoping to talk to anyone who was in contact with Miller in December of 1996 or anyone “who may have seen her in the vicinity of the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn during that time,” officials said in the release.
“We are releasing this new photograph today because we believe someone out there has information, perhaps a detail they thought was insignificant at the time, that could be the key to solving this case and bringing justice for Rosalie and those who loved her,” Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, New Hampshire Cold Case Unit Chief said in the release.
The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit encourages anyone with any amount of information to contact the group at [email protected] or (603) 271-2663.
Science26 seconds ago
Mobile clinic brings mammograms to women on Skid Row
Sports6 minutes ago
Commentary: Will Klein isn’t surprised he saved the Dodgers’ World Series dynasty
World18 minutes ago
Is Iran expanding attacks to target energy and civilian sites in the Gulf?
News48 minutes ago
Trump claims US stockpiles mean wars can be fought ‘forever’; Kristi Noem testifies before Congress – US politics live
Midwest1 hour ago
Ohio courtroom devolves into chaos after sentencing in death of teen
Florida1 year ago
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Connecticut2 years ago
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
Oregon2 years ago
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Virginia2 years ago
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana1 year ago
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
World18 minutes ago
Is Iran expanding attacks to target energy and civilian sites in the Gulf?
News48 minutes ago
Trump claims US stockpiles mean wars can be fought ‘forever’; Kristi Noem testifies before Congress – US politics live
Videos3 hours ago
War in the Middle East: Iran’s broad retaliation in the Gulf • FRANCE 24 English
Politics11 hours ago
Trump sends official notification to Congress on strikes against Iran
World12 hours ago
Unexpected birth brings hope to near-extinct Amazon tribe
-
World5 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts6 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO6 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Oregon4 days ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
-
Technology1 week agoArturia’s FX Collection 6 adds two new effects and a $99 intro version
-
News1 week agoVideo: How Lunar New Year Traditions Take Root Across America
-
Florida2 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days