113 S1191 IS: Better Buildings Act of 2013
U.S. Senate
2013-06-19
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as
the Better Buildings Act of
2013
.
2.Separate spaces
with high-performance energy efficiency measuresSubtitle B of title IV of the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17081 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
424.Separate
spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures
(a)In
this section:
(1)High-performance
energy efficiency measureThe term high-performance energy
efficiency measure means a technology, product, or practice that will
result in substantial operational cost savings by reducing energy consumption
and utility costs.
(2)The term separate spaces means areas within a
commercial building that are leased or otherwise occupied by a tenant or other
occupant for a period of time pursuant to the terms of a written
agreement.
(b)
(1)Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this
section, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Energy
Efficiency and Renewable Energy, shall complete a study on the feasibility
of—
(A)significantly
improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings through the design and
construction, by owners and tenants, of separate spaces with high-performance
energy efficiency measures; and
(B)encouraging
owners and tenants to implement high-performance energy efficiency measures in
separate spaces.
(2)The
study shall, at a minimum, include—
(A)descriptions
of—
(i)high-performance
energy efficiency measures that should be considered as part of the initial
design and construction of separate spaces;
(ii)processes that
owners, tenants, architects, and engineers may replicate when designing and
constructing separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency
measures;
(iii)standards and
best practices to achieve appropriate energy intensities for lighting, plug
loads, pipe loads, heating, cooling, cooking, laundry, and other systems to
satisfy the needs of the commercial building tenant;
(iv)return on
investment and payback analyses of the incremental cost and projected energy
savings of the proposed set of high-performance energy efficiency measures,
including consideration of tax and other available incentives;
(v)models and
simulation methods that predict the quantity of energy used by separate spaces
with high-performance energy efficiency measures and that compare that
predicted quantity to the quantity of energy used by separate spaces without
high-performance energy efficiency measures but that otherwise comply with
applicable building code requirements;
(vi)measurement and
verification platforms demonstrating actual energy use of high-performance
energy efficiency measures installed in separate spaces, and whether the
measures generate the savings intended in the initial design and construction
of the separate spaces;
(vii)best practices
that encourage an integrated approach to designing and constructing separate
spaces to perform at optimum energy efficiency in conjunction with the central
systems of a commercial building; and
(viii)any impact on
employment resulting from the design and construction of separate spaces with
high-performance energy efficiency measures; and
(B)case studies
reporting economic and energy saving returns in the design and construction of
separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures.
(3)Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this section, the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register
requesting public comments regarding effective methods, measures, and practices
for the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy
efficiency measures.
(4)The
Secretary shall publish the study on the website of the Department of
Energy.
.
3.Subtitle B of title IV
of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17081 et seq.)
(as amended by section 2) is amended by adding at the end the following:
425.
(a)In
this section:
(1)High-performance
energy efficiency measureThe term high-performance energy
efficiency measure has the meaning given the term in section 424.
(2)The term separate spaces has the meaning
given the term in section 424.
(b)The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and
the Secretary shall develop a voluntary program within the Energy Star program
established by section 324A of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42
U.S.C. 6294a), which may be known as Tenant Star, to promote energy efficiency
in separate spaces leased by tenants or otherwise occupied within commercial
buildings.
(c)Responsibilities
under the program developed under subsection (b) shall be divided between the
Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in
accordance with the terms of applicable agreements between the Secretary and
the Administrator.
(d)The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of
the Energy Information Administration, shall—
(1)collect, through
each Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey of the Energy Information
Administration that is conducted after the date of enactment of this section,
data on—
(A)categories of
building occupancy that are known to consume significant quantities of energy,
such as occupancy by law firms, data centers, trading floors, restaurants,
retail outlets, and financial services firms; and
(B)other aspects of
the property, building operation, or building occupancy determined by the
Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, in consultation with
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to be relevant in
lowering energy consumption; and
(2)make data
collected under paragraph (1) available to the public in aggregated form and
provide the data, and any associated results, to the Administrator of the
Environmental Protection Agency for use in accordance with subsection
(e).
(e)Recognition of
owners and tenants
(1)Occupancy-based
recognitionNot later than 1 year after the date on which the
data described in subsection (d) is received, the Secretary and the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, following an
opportunity for public notice and comment—
(A)in a manner
similar to the Energy Star rating system for commercial buildings, develop
voluntary policies and procedures to recognize tenants that voluntarily achieve
high levels of energy efficiency in separate spaces;
(B)establish
building occupancy categories eligible for Tenant Star recognition based on the
data collected under subsection (d)(1) and any associated results; and
(C)consider other
forms of recognition for commercial building tenants or other occupants that
lower energy consumption in separate spaces.
(2)Design- and
construction-based recognitionAfter the study required under
section 424(b) is completed and following an opportunity for public notice and
comment, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection and the Secretary
may develop a voluntary program to recognize commercial building owners and
tenants that use high-performance energy efficiency measures in the design and
construction of separate spaces.
(f)For purposes of this section, the impact on
climate change shall not be a factor in determining the energy efficiency of
commercial building
tenants.
.