PORTLAND (AP) - New Oregon homes may be getting even “greener” when it comes to more efficient energy conservation.

The Oregon Building Codes Division is considering changes to home building codes that would reduce home energy use by 10 percent to 15 percent.

The Oregon Department of Energy in April proposed the changes to require all homes built in Oregon to achieve the same energy savings as homes that meet federal Energy Star requirements.

To qualify for an Energy Star rating, a home must be 15 percent more efficient than one that meets the minimum standards set forth in the 2004 International Residential Code.

The code would raise the bar for green builders - but it also could be a temporary boon for home builders that have marketed themselves as green and built to Energy Star standards. Green builders will have the skills and connections to equipment suppliers necessary to more readily meet the new code requirements, Kendall Youngblood, residential sector manager for the Energy Trust of Oregon, said.

“Right now it's a differentiating factor to say they're building to this higher efficiency level,” she said. “After the code change everyone will be at that level, and they'll have to go above and beyond to differentiate.”

Fewer than 12 percent of new single-family homes built in Oregon in 2006 qualified for an Energy Star rating, according to the federal program.

“It's probably the most significant (code change) in the last six years,” Mark Long, administrator of the Oregon Building Codes Division, said. “The whole state is interested in these issues.”

Slightly more insulation in floors and ceilings, window upgrades, and more efficient lighting would be required in new homes under the updated Oregon code.

Homeowners or builders would also need to choose two additional measures from a list of accepted improvements such as installing a high-efficiency heating system or solar panels.

The energy code updates would help the state reach its goal for 15 percent overall energy savings by 2015 set in 2005 by Gov. Ted Kulongoski's global warming advisory committee.