BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS
Senator Ben Hueso, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1013 Hearing Date: 6/16/2015
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|Author: |Quirk |
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|Version: |2/26/2015 As Introduced |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Jay Dickenson |
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SUBJECT: Energy: public domain computer program: home energy
rating
DIGEST: This bill makes various changes to the California
Energy Commission's (CEC) implementation of its building energy
efficiency standards and its related home energy rating system
(HERS) program.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires CEC to issue cost-effective regulations regarding
building design construction for new building and for
appliances to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or
unnecessary consumption of energy, including the energy
associated with the use of water. (Public Resources Code
§25402 et seq)
2)Requires CEC to develop a public domain computer program that
enables contractors, builders, architects, engineers, and
government officials to estimate the energy consumed by
residential and nonresidential buildings. (Public Resources
Code §25402.1(a))
3)Requires CEC to adopt a statewide HERS program for residential
dwellings that allows consistent, accurate, and uniform
ratings of the energy efficiency of California homes and
prioritization of potential investments in energy efficiency
measures. (Public Resources Code §25942)
AB 1013 (Quirk) Page 2 of ?
This bill:
1)Requires CEC to approve and make publicly available, not less
than six months prior to the effective date of adopted or
updated standards, a version of the public domain computer
program that will function properly with those adopted or
updated standards.
2)Requires CEC, before approving the public domain computer
program for use with adopted or updated standards, to (a)
perform preliminary tests of the public domain computer
program using common examples of residential and
nonresidential buildings and building systems to ensure the
usability; and to (b) make the results of the preliminary
tests publicly available.
3)Requires the CEC, as part of the home energy rating program,
for existing single-family residential dwellings and
multifamily residential dwellings with up to four units, to
(a) ensure energy assessment tools used by the commission are
routinely adjusted to improve modeling accuracy; and to (b)
ensure that consumers receive a notice with the output of the
energy assessment tools explaining the assumptions used in the
energy assessment tools and how the output may differ from
actual usage patterns.
Background
Public domain compliance software. The Warren-Alquist Act
requires CEC to, among other things, establish a process for
certifying calculation methods to demonstrate compliance with
its building energy efficiency standards. The process CEC
established is its Public Domain Compliance Software. Building
industry professionals use the software to demonstrate building
energy use for compliance with CEC's building energy efficiency
standards. The software rates the energy efficiency of a newly
constructed building as an asset - a single-family home, an
office building, etc. - and compares it to other similar, newly
constructed assets. Industry professionals can use the software
to evaluate the effects of different building features on a
building, operated under assumed conditions, against other
buildings with different features, operated under the same
assumed conditions.
Industry professionals report problems with CEC's past roll outs
AB 1013 (Quirk) Page 3 of ?
of the software updates that reflect new or updated building
energy efficiency standards. The author and industry
representatives contend that such problems could likely be
avoided if they had access to a version of the software before
the new or updated standards took effect and if CEC made public
the testing of such software. For this reason, the bill
requires CEC to make such software available at least six months
prior to the effective date of the new or updated standards and
requires CEC to test it using certain parameters, the results of
which CEC is to make public. The CEC reports that both of these
requirements accord with CEC's current practice.
Home energy rating system and the use of software. Public
Resources Code §25942 directs CEC to conduct a statewide home
energy rating program for residential dwellings. The program's
goal, according to CEC, is "reasonable estimates of potential
utility bill savings, and reliable recommendations on
cost-effective measures to improve energy efficiency."
In response, CEC established the HERS program. The program
operates as follows:
The CEC approves "HERS Providers" to train and certify
"HERS Raters."
HERS Raters conduct HERS verification in (i) residential
and nonresidential newly constructed buildings, additions
and perform California Whole-House Home Energy Ratings - a
comprehensive evaluation of the energy efficiency of the
entire home.
HERS Raters often times use CEC-approved software to help
homeowners estimate the energy usage they might realize after
making an energy efficiency upgrade. Industry representatives
report that some of these software-based energy assessment tools
have provided inaccurate estimates of energy savings, despite
having been approved by CEC for such use.
The author and industry representatives contend that the
accuracy and usefulness of software used by HERS Raters would be
improved by routine adjustments. They further contend that home
owners would be better served if CEC ensured home owners were
informed of the assumptions behind CEC-approved energy
assessment tools and how actual energy usage may vary from
assessment tool estimates. There is no reason to contradict the
AB 1013 (Quirk) Page 4 of ?
proponents - the practices required by the bill likely would
improve the accuracy and usefulness of CEC-approved software in
estimating homeowner energy savings. However, CEC reports that
the modeling adjustments will be complex and costly. It is not
clear the improvements that would result from routine
adjustments to CEC-approved software would merit the cost of
such adjustments.
Who's using whom? The bill requires CEC to ensure energy
assessment tools are routinely adjusted. In doing so, the bill
references "energy assessment tools used by the commission."
This statement inaccurately reflects CEC's relationship with the
energy assessment tools. This is because CEC does not "use"
such tools; rather, it approves them. The author and committee
may wish to amend the bill as follows:
(f) For existing single-family residential dwellings and
multifamily residential dwellings with up to four units,
the commission shall do both of the following in
administering the statewide home energy rating program:
(1) Ensure energy assessment tools used approved by the
commission are routinely adjusted to improve modeling
accuracy.
(2) Ensure that consumers receive a notice with the output
of the energy assessment tools explaining the assumptions
used in the energy assessment tools and how they may differ
from actual usage patterns.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 2581 (Bradford, 2014) would have made changes to CEC building
energy efficiency standards programs identical to this bill, as
well as changes to CEC's appliance energy efficiency standards.
The bill was vetoed by the Governor, who opined the bill
described CEC's existing practices and did not provide CEC with
new authority.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
ASSEMBLY VOTES:
AB 1013 (Quirk) Page 5 of ?
Assembly Floor (79-0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (17-0)
Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee(14-0)
SUPPORT:
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Proponents contend that, while CEC has
taken steps to ensure its next roll out of energy-code standards
will be better than past roll outs, this bill establishes
minimum levels of action that would be nonetheless well-received
by energy-code users.
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