Blog

ASHRAE Government Affairs Update, 8/22/2014

Posted by admin on Aug. 22, 2014  /  Government Affairs  /  Subscribe 0

Federal Activities

For additional information on federal issues, please contact Mark Ames, ASHRAE’s Senior Manager of Federal Government Affairs, at [email protected].

DOE Holds Meeting to Negotiate Draft Proposed Rule on Energy Efficiency for Manufactured Housing

Earlier this month the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (ASRAC) Manufactured Housing Working Group held a two-day meeting and webinar to negotiate a draft proposed rule on energy efficiency for manufactured homes. The deadline for negotiating a proposed rule and submitting it to ASRAC for consideration is September 30, 2014. The proposed rule will then be published in the Federal Register for public comment, and a final rule will be issued after DOE responds to the comments received.

ASHRAE standards were discussed at several points during this meeting, including 62.2, Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings. The Society is interested in this rulemaking for a number of reasons, including because none of ASHRAE’s standards currently address energy efficiency in manufactured housing.

All meetings of the Working Group are open to the public. The next meetings/webinars will occur from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern on:

• Friday, August 22, 2014
• Tuesday, September 9, 2014
• Wednesday, September 10, 2014
• Monday, September 22, 2014
• Tuesday, September 23, 2014
• Wednesday, October 1, 2014
• Thursday, October 2, 2014

For additional information, including how to register, please click here.

GSA Green Building Advisory Committee Focuses on Federal Building Performance Labels

The U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Green Building Advisory Committee’s Building Labels Task Group has been meeting to discuss proposals to require building performance labels for federal buildings, including current energy and environmental performance. ASHRAE Government Affairs Office and Headquarters staff have attended these meetings and provided the Task Group with information on a number of resources, including ASHRAE’s:

• Building Energy Quotient Labeling Program
• Procedures for Commercial Building Energy Audits, 2^nd Edition
• Performance Measurement Protocols for Commercial Buildings
• Performance Measurement Protocols for Commercial Buildings, Best Practices Guide
• Indoor Air Quality Guide; Best Practices for Design, Construction, and Commissioning
• Standard 55, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy
• Standard 62.1, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality
• Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings
• Standard 211P, Proposed Standard, Standard for Commercial Building Energy Audits (currently in development)
• Standard 214P, Proposed Standard, Standard for Measuring and Expressing Building Energy Performance in a Rating Program (currently in development)
• Existing requirements for using ASHRAE’s standards in federal buildings

Information was also provided on ANSI’s Standardization Roadmap: Energy Efficiency in the Built Environment, which contains a chapter on building energy rating, labeling, and simulation.

Additional information on GSA's Building Labels Task Group can be found here.

Support Growing for Referencing ICC 700 in National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015 is bedrock legislation for structuring the United States’ defense programs, including military construction, and has been enacted by Congress for over 50 consecutive years. The Senate version of the NDAA FY 2015 (S.2410) includes a new reference to ANSI/NAHB/ICC 700 National Green Building Standard that would allow any residential buildings funded, planned, remodeled, or authorized by the NDAA that will be designed and constructed to meet an above code green building standard or rating system to use ICC 700 or an equivalent protocol which has been developed using a voluntary consensus standard. The reference to the standard does not create any new requirements, and instead serves to clarify that ICC 700 may be used. This bipartisan provision was included in the bill at the request of Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and ASHRAE, among others.

Earlier this year it was announced that ASHRAE will become a cosponsor for the 2015 edition of ICC 700.

The House version of the NDAA (H.R.4435) does not reference ICC 700, as the bill passed the House while discussions in the Senate were still occurring. ASHRAE and NAHB government affairs staff have been working with Senators Wicker and Hirono, and members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to increase awareness of and support for the reference to ICC 700 in the Senate bill, and encourage its inclusion in the final version that is enacted by Congress. While there are not guarantees in Congress, there is hope, as these meetings have been generally positive.

The timeline for action on the NDAA is uncertain, and largely dependent upon the results of the November elections and other issues clamoring for attention. If years past are any guide, the NDAA will likely be enacted sometime this December.

GGAC Regional and Chapter Activities

For additional information on state, local, and international government affairs, please contact Jim Scarborough, ASHRAE’s Manager of Grassroots Government Affairs, at [email protected].

North Carolina

NC Department of Insurance Code Services Section Issues Explanation for New Energy Code Legislation

The North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation allowing building renovations and additions to use the 2009 NC Energy Code rather than the current 2012 Code. For interpretation of how this change affects you, please click here.

NC Building Code Council Issues Emergency Rule

The North Carolina Building Code Council approved an emergency rule regarding requirements for low-E window. The Council decided to decrease the u-value requirements for windows due to incidents of melting vinyl siding from low-E window reflections. There will also be a public hearing held on September 9 at 9:00am at North Carolina State University’s McKimmon Center, 1101 Gorman Street, Raleigh, NC 27606.        More Information: Original Emergency Rule Text| Proposed Temporary Rule| North Carolina State Page  

Return to list