RESNET Proposing Amendments to the National Home Energy Rating Standards

Transcription

1 August 2006 RESNET Proposing Amendments to the National Home Energy Rating Standards RESNET is proposing five amendments to the national home energy rating standards. The proposed amendments are: Adoption of a Sampling Provider Accreditation Standard - RESNET released a proposed sampling standard in A number of proposed changes were recommended to the draft standard through a public review and comment process and comments received during the 2006 RES- NET Building Performance Conference. Based upon this input the RESNET sampling task force undertook a thorough review of the proposed standard and completed a major re-write of its provisions. This proposed revised standard is the result of this process. Quality Assurance Designee Delegation - With the growing demand for rating services in many markets, Quality Assurance Designees can not keep up with the number of quality assurance reviews and inspections called for in the national home energy rating standards. This proposed amendment will allow a Quality Assurance Designee to delegate the quality assurance reviews and/or inspections to a qualified Delegate. The Quality Assurance Designee, however, remains responsible for the accuracy and compliance of the provider s quality assurance program, including reviews and inspections completed by a QA Delegate. Rater Training Provider Accreditation Process - The Rater Training Provider Accreditation Committee was created before the RESNET Board of Directors created the RESNET Training and Education Standing Committee. It is logical that since there is a standing committee that it replace the Rater Training Provider Accreditation Committee. Rating Provider Accreditation Process - The current accreditation procedures were established before RESNET was an incorporated organization and was a partnership between the nation s state energy offices and the mortgage industry. Now that RESNET is incorporated it is logical that rating provider accreditation be the responsibility of RESNET just as it is responsible for the accreditation of rater training and rating software tool providers. Continued on next page...

2 Page 2 Proposed Amendments continued... Standard Editorial Corrections - This adds a requirement for rating providers to archive tax credit verifications, clarifies the number of probationary ratings required for new raters and clarifies the calculation of internal gains. RESNET is conducting an on-line public comment process on the proposed amendments through August 28, Your comments will be posted in real-time to RESNET and will be posted on the web site for others to view. To download and submit comments on the proposed amendments go to RESNET Adopts Amendment to Revise Star Rating Index Thresholds After a public review process the RESNET Board of Directors has adopted the proposed amendment to revise the HERS index thresholds for the star ratings. The use of stars by a rating provider or rater is entirely voluntary. Although not many clients of rating services use the star ratings there are a few markets where builders market their star ratings. The amendment aligns the star rating thresholds with the revised technical standards that went into effect on July 1, The star rating has been modified as follows: Stars HERS Index Stars HERS Index One Three One Four Two Four Two Five Three Five To view the adopted amendment, go to Mark Your Calendars 2007 RESNET Building Performance Conference February 19 21, 2007 San Diego, California The RESNET Building Performance Conference is the only national convention for the home energy rating industry. It presents the best opportunity for all members of the building performance industry for networking, educational sessions, and first-hand exposure to the latest new products and technologies. Mark you calendar! The decision to join other members of the building performance industry for an annual update on important business trends and skills is one of the smartest choices you can make. To learn more about this exciting opportunity go to

3 Page 3 RESNET Wants You! RESNET Seeking Nominations of Sessions to be Offered at the 2007 RESNET Building Performance Conference The 2007 RESNET Building Performance Conference will take place in beautiful San Diego, California, February 19-21, The theme of the 2005 RESNET Conference is "Taking It to The Next Level". RESNET's goal is to make the annual conference a memorable learning experience for attendees. RESNET is seeking suggestions on sessions and presenters that should be offered at the conference in San Diego. The growing interest in the RESNET Conference is reflected in the number, diversity and quality of the sessions that were nominated in the past. To be a success in 2007, RESNET needs your ideas. The nominations offered by the RESNET network is the backbone of RESNET's conference agenda. To nominate sessions and presenters you would like to see offered at the 2007 RESNET Building Performance Conference go to RESNET at You are encouraged to submit more than a single session. You will need to complete a submission for each session you are nominating. The deadline for nominations is September 1, Florida Solar Energy Center to Offer National Rater Test & Tutoring at the 2007 RESNET Building Performance Conference The national home energy rating standards require that all existing certified home energy raters who have not yet passed the RESNET National Rater Test must take and pass the national rater test by January 1, The 2007 RESNET Conference presents an excellent opportunity for certified raters to meet this requirement. As part of the 2007 conference the Florida Solar Energy Center will be administering the national home energy rating test and offering a tutor session to prepare raters for the test. For more information contact Tei Kucharski at TKucharski@fsec.ucf.edu RESNET Building Performance Conference Taking It to The Next Level

4 Page 4 Excitement for 2007 RESNET Building Performance Conference is Building: Honor Roll of Early Conference Sponsors The excitement is building for the 2007 RESNET Building Performance Conference. Already a large number of business and organizations have joined the honor roll of early conference sponsors. Members of this honor roll to date are: Conference Sponsors CalCERTS California Home Energy Efficiency Rating Services Icynene Environmental Protection Agency LP Building Products Texas Home Energy Raters Organization Conference Patrons Florida Solar Energy Center Guaranteed Watt Savers Conference Supporters Architectural Energy Corporation California Living & Energy Competitive Resources ConSol CONTECTS Consultants and Architects Dow Building Solutions EAM Associates Energy Conservatory Energy Inspectors Energy Sense EnergyLogic Monroe Infrared Technology Nelrod Company NSpects Sea Gull Lighting, LLC TexEnergy Solutions Vermont Energy Investment Corporation Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation Conference Partners Affordable Comfort, Inc. California Association of Building Energy Consultants EEBA Home Energy Magazine RESNET needs your company to join this growing honor roll to make the 2007 conference the best ever. To sign up to be a conference sponsor or exhibitor, go to conference/2007/supporter

5 Page 5 RESNET Board of Directors Endorse Snowe-Feinstein Tax Incentives Bill The RESNET Board of Directors voted to endorse the Snowe- Feinstein Bill (S. 3628) as best meeting RESNET s principles for tax incentives for building energy performance. The bill s provisions include: Extension of the new homes credit through the year 2010 A performance based tax credit to improve the efficiency of existing homes. This proposed tax credit is based on a sliding scale depending on the percentage of energy savings. The credit ranges from $800 for 20% savings to $2,000 for 50% savings. The procedures for third-party certification parallel those currently used for the new homes tax credit enacted in the Energy Policy Act of The incentives begin on date of enactment and expire on December 31, The credit applies both to owner-occupied homes and to renter-initiated retrofits. The proposed legislation states that the certification shall be "based on the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) Technical Guidelines on the date of the enactment of this section. Establishes a $500 tax credit for individuals to be trained and certified to conduct the inspection and testing to certify homes for the new and existing homes tax credit. To qualify the rater would have to perform a minimum of 25 tax credit certifications in the tax year. The section also provides for a maximum credit of $1,000 for raters to purchase the following performance testing equipment: + blower doors + duct leakage testing equipment + flue gas combustion equipment + digital manometers Extension through 2010 and modifications of the commercial buildings energy efficient tax deduction. The text of the bill is posted on RESNET's web site at The Residential Energy Services Network s (RESNET) mission is to ensure the success of the building energy performance certification industry, set the standards of quality, and increase the opportunity for ownership of high performance buildings. For more information RESNET at info@resnet.us. Visit RESNET s web site at:

6 Page 6 Monetizing Energy Savings: A Path to Low Energy Buildings Current private investment decisions on improving the energy performance of buildings do not fully reflect the full economic value of the high energy performance of buildings. An answer to this issue is financing practices that monetize long-term energy savings in near-term investment decisions. Such financing mechanisms can make a major contribution to growing the demand for high performance buildings. On August 15, 2006, the peered review paper Hurdling Financial Barriers to Low Energy Buildings: Experiences from the USA and Europe on Monetizing Building Energy Savings in Private Investment Decisions was presented at the 2006 American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy Summer Study on Building Energy Efficiency. The paper was authored by Steve Baden of RESNET, Philip Fairey of the Florida Solar Energy Center, and Paul Waide, Philippine de T serclaes, and Jens Lausten of the International Energy Agency. The following are the key points of the paper. One of the largest barriers that net zero energy buildings will face in the market place is the resistance of consumers to make the necessary up-front investments. These investments will not be insignificant. Clearly, access to preferred long-term financing is needed if the market for zeroenergy buildings is to ever be mainstreamed and if private cost-optimization decisions are to be brought in line with societal cost optimizations. Traditional financing and governmental incentive programs are not enough to meet the scale required. Clearly the private sector must be tapped. Monetizing the energy and pollution savings from low and zero energy buildings offers the greatest promise to achieve this. Through mechanisms like carbon and white certificate trading, tradable renewable energy credits and energy efficient mortgages, affordable financing can be presented to the consumer to make the needed improvements. The barrier to the up-front cost can be reduced if the consumer can access longterm, no-down-payment, affordable interest financing or if a third party finances the upgrades in order to have title to the monetized energy and pollution savings to trade in the open market. In order to create private sector investor confidence there is a need for an international set of standards that clearly define the technical aspects of calculating, labeling and certifying a building s energy performance. A critical aspect is the qualifications and training of the individuals that will verify the performance through inspections and testing. One key need is to develop a uniform definition of a reference building to which a building s energy performance can be compared. Any robust investment market is going to ask the question energy savings compared to what? If the building performance industry cannot answer that question, there is little chance that an international market will develop for building energy and pollution savings. To develop this confidence in the market place there needs to be an international consensus on a number of technical and rater certification issues. Continued on next page...

7 Page 7 Monetizing Energy Savings continued... Technical issues include: A set of common definitions and rules for the configuration of reference buildings Standards for the computation of energy and pollution savings Standards for the verification of software and calculation methods Protocols for the identification of recommended energy improvements and for the calculation of cost-effectiveness The training and certification of persons certifying the building s performance includes: Qualification of raters Development of code of standards for the field and performance testing verification Definition of quality assurance requirements Definition of insurance requirements Already steps are being made in the United States and Europe to address the barriers to the higher up-front costs on building energy efficiency. Government policy initiatives include: U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005 Created building energy efficiency tax incentives for energy efficient new homes, commercial building energy performance, and improving the energy efficiency of existing homes. EU Directive of Energy Performance of Buildings Mandates: Establishment of common methodology for calculating building energy performance in Europe Ratings of all buildings at the time of sale/change of occupancy Annual inspection of boilers, heating, and air conditioning systems Led by Europe, there is an emerging market in private investment in energy and pollution savings. The two main drivers for this monetization of savings are: White Certification/White Tags This form of trading is similar to the U.S. Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards where utilities set goals by the governments and have the ability to buy and sell credits to meet the goals. The European Union requires that utilities must through energy efficiency reduce their customer s energy demand by 1% per year. White Certificates are becoming the mechanism to meet this. Already, France, Italy and the United Kingdom have established White Certificates. Continued on next page...

8 Page 8 Monetizing Energy Savings continued.... In the U.S., White Tags is being required by state public utility commissions as the follow-up to Renewable Energy Certificates ($900 million in such certificates were traded in the U.S. in 2005). Utility regulatory commissions in Connecticut, Nevada, and Pennsylvania have adopted White Tag requirements and additional states are actively investigating setting such a requirement. Carbon Cap & Trade Borrowing from the U.S. Clean Air Act, the Kyoto Protocol on climate change set up required caps on the amount of carbon produced by each nation. Nations that can not meet the cap are able to purchase carbon emission credits from third parties. In Europe alone a total of $8 billion in carbon credits was traded in 2005 at an average of $14 a tone. In the U.S. which is not participating in the Kyoto Protocol carbon trading is voluntary. In 2005 less than $2 million was traded on the Chicago Climate Exchange at an average of $4 a ton. States are beginning to exert leadership in the U.S. on carbon cap and trade requirements. Nine northeastern states have entered into a regional cap and trade pact. California is also in the process of developing its own carbon cap and trade requirement. Monetization of energy and pollution savings can accelerate adoption of more energy efficient buildings. There have been a variety of public and private endeavors to foster energy efficient buildings construction and retrofits in Europe and the USA. Lessons learned need to be shared to help improve future endeavors. There is a benefit for the exchange of information on program and policy initiatives and their implementation issues on the efforts that are taking place in the European Union and the United States. There is much each can learn from the other. The USA has decades of experience in developing standards for measuring the energy performance of buildings and, for homes, has adopted a mature set of standards accepted by both policy makers and the market place. The EU will have the experience of an unprecedented scale of implementation due to the Energy Performance in Building s Directives mandatory building energy certification requirements. Both the EU and the US have energy efficient mortgage schemes that can provide lessons for future improvements. The setting of the international protocols necessary to ensure international investor confidence will be moved forward if the EU and the USA can adopt complementary standards. If this coordination takes place the potential for international monetization of energy performance in buildings will be hastened. Attention Raters: Certified Raters Must Pass the RESNET National Rater Test by January 1, 2008 The national home energy rating standards require that all existing certified home energy raters who have not yet passed the RESNET National Rater Test must take and pass the national rater test by January 1, For more information visit RESNET s web site at

9 Page 9 United Kingdom and California to Strike Global Warming Deal Britain and California are preparing to sidestep the Bush administration and fight global warming together by creating a joint market for greenhouse gases. On August 1, 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the groundwork for a new trans-atlantic market in carbon dioxide emissions. The aim is to fix a price on carbon pollution, an unwanted byproduct of burning fossil fuels including coal, oil and gasoline. The idea is to set overall caps for carbon and reward businesses that find a profitable way to minimize their carbon emissions, thereby encouraging new, greener technologies. The world's only mandatory carbon trading program is in Europe. Created in conjunction with the Kyoto Protocol, a 1997 international treaty that took effect last year, it caps the amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted from power plants and factories in more than two dozen countries. Companies can trade rights to pollute directly with each other or through exchanges located around Europe as long as the cap is met. Canada, one of more than 160 nations that signed Kyoto, plans a similar program. Although the United States is one of the few industrialized nations that hasn't signed the treaty, some Eastern states are developing a regional cap-and-trade program. A few U.S. companies have voluntarily agreed to cap their carbon pollution as part of a new Chicago Climate Exchange. Governor Schwarzenegger has called on California to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 2000 levels by California was the 12th largest source of greenhouse gases in the world last year, bigger than most nations. Blair has called on Britain to reduce carbon emissions to 60 percent of its 1990 levels by Britain also has been looking at imposing individual limits on carbon pollution. People who accumulate unused carbon allowances for example, by owning low energy homes or independently producing renewable energy could sell them to people who exceed their allowances for example living in an energy inefficient home. Dialogue Started Between RESNET and Russian and Ukrainian Building Scientists and Government Officials On August 3, 2006, RESNET hosted a dialogue with a group of Russian and Ukrainian building scientists and government officials. The event featured an onsite inspection and testing for an energy rating of a home by Lee O Neal of NSpects and a member of the RESNET Board of Directors. As a follow-up, there was a presentation by David Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense Council and vice president of the RENET board and Mr. O Neal on RESNET and its national standards for home energy ratings. Lee O Neal reports that the international delegation was very interested in RESNET standards, energy efficient mortgages, and home energy rating software. Such international dialogues are very important steps in the goal of developing complimentary standards for the measuring of the energy performance of buildings as part of an international protocol for certifying building energy and pollution savings.

10 Page 10 RESNET Enters Partnership with EEBA to Promote Houses That Work RESNET has entered into a partnership with the Energy and Environmental Building Association (EEBA) to promote the highly successful House That Work educational seminars. Houses That Work presents the latest technology and building practices for high performance homes. The course presents the research of the U.S. Department of Energy s Building America Program. The course presents regional case studies. Through the partnership RESNET rater members receive a 50% discount for the registration at the course. RESNET will promote the building performance education series to its network and raters will market the course to their builder clients. Houses That Work s schedule for the remainder of 2006 is: Baltimore, MD September 7 Las Vegas, NV September 27 Des Monies, IA October 26 Philadelphia, PA October 31 Boston, MA November 1 Seattle, WA December 7 Boise, ID December 8 For more information go to