BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2379
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Date of Hearing: April 27, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2379 (Quirk) - As Amended April 13, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to
provide a progress report on the implementation of a statewide
home energy rating program as part of its integrated energy
policy report (IEPR). Specifically, this bill requires the
report to include:
1)An evaluation of the energy savings attributable to the
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program.
2)A comparison of actual energy consumption and the models or
projections used to qualify the rating program.
3)A recommendation concerning which means and methods will be
most efficient and cost-effect to induce home energy ratings
for residential dwellings.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Increased annual staff costs of $472,000 and increased
contracting costs of 500,000 for CEC to perform the comparison
of actual and projected energy consumption (GF or special fund).
The Energy Resources Program Account typically funds the IEPR,
however, the fund is oversubscribed and in deficit.
COMMENTS:
1)Rationale. In a California Public Utilities Commission (PUC)
evaluation from 2010-2012, the PUC looked at the Whole House
Retrofit program and determined the program as currently
implemented is not meeting its energy savings goals caused by
a combination of factors that include an overestimation of
savings in the retrofit planning phase (building modeling)
The report concluded that in order to improve the program,
better energy estimating tools would be needed, including more
complete data on energy use.
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According to the author, this bill will improve the home
energy rating systems by requiring a comparison of the
estimated and actual savings that a home experiences when
property owners make energy efficiency improvements that are
recommended by the rating system.
2)Background. An energy assessment examines energy saving
opportunities in a particular building, in order to define
potential upgrades. Ratings are used to compare the energy
efficiency of one building to others based on standard
assumptions of occupant behavior. A variety of software tools
are available to perform assessments and ratings, and some
contractors have created proprietary in-house tools. These
methods involve inputting information about a building into a
building energy simulation program and running the program to
predict energy use. Examples of modeling software that
estimate energy usage include EnergyPro, Home Energy Saver
(HES), and Home Energy Efficient Design (HEED).
Both anecdotal evidence and controlled studies have raised
concerns about the accuracy of energy analysis software.
Generally, it has been observed that software-based energy
analysis of inefficient existing homes tends to over-predict
pre-retrofit energy use and retrofit energy savings.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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