[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2564 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2564

   To accelerate the adoption of smart building technologies in the 
                private sector and key Federal agencies.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 2015

 Mr. Welch (for himself and Mr. Kinzinger of Illinois) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
   Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and 
 Infrastructure and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To accelerate the adoption of smart building technologies in the 
                private sector and key Federal agencies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Smart Building Acceleration Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the building sector uses more than 40 percent of the 
        energy of the Nation;
            (2) emerging building energy monitoring and control 
        technologies are enabling a transition of the building sector 
        to ``smart'' buildings that have dramatically reduced energy 
        use and improved quality of service to occupants;
            (3) an analysis of select private-sector smart buildings by 
        the Department of Energy would document the costs and benefits 
        of those emerging technologies, promote their adoption, and 
        accelerate that transition;
            (4) with over 400,000 buildings, the Federal Government is 
        the largest building owner in the United States; and
            (5) the Federal Government can also accelerate the 
        transition to smart building technologies by demonstrating and 
        evaluating emerging smart building technologies using existing 
        programs and funding to showcase selected Federal smart 
        buildings.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Program.--The term ``program'' means the smart building 
        program established under section 5(a).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
            (3) Smart building.--The term ``smart building'' means a 
        building with an energy system that--
                    (A) is flexible and automated;
                    (B) has extensive operational monitoring and 
                communication connectivity, allowing remote monitoring 
                and analysis of all building functions;
                    (C) is integrated with the overall building 
                operations for control of energy generation, 
                consumption, and storage; and
                    (D) communicates with utilities and other third-
                party commercial entities where appropriate.

SEC. 4. SURVEY OF PRIVATE SECTOR SMART BUILDINGS.

    (a) Survey.--The Secretary shall conduct a survey of privately 
owned smart buildings throughout the Nation, including commercial 
buildings and buildings owned by nonprofit organizations and 
institutions of higher education.
    (b) Selection.--From among the smart buildings surveyed under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall select at least 1 building each 
from an appropriate range of building sizes and types.
    (c) Evaluation.--Using the guidelines of the Federal Energy 
Management Program relating to whole-building evaluation, measurement, 
and verification, the Secretary shall evaluate the costs and benefits 
of the buildings selected under subsection (b), including an 
identification of--
            (1) which advanced building technologies--
                    (A) are most cost-effective; and
                    (B) show the most promise for--
                            (i) increasing building energy savings;
                            (ii) increasing service performance to 
                        building occupants; and
                            (iii) reducing environmental impacts; and
            (2) any other information the Secretary determines to be 
        appropriate.

SEC. 5. FEDERAL SMART BUILDING PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program to 
establish 1 or more smart buildings under the jurisdiction of several 
key Federal agencies, including buildings that are owned by the Federal 
Government but are commercially operated, to demonstrate the costs and 
benefits of smart buildings.
    (b) Federal Agency Described.--The key Federal agencies referred to 
in subsection (a) shall include--
            (1) the Department of Defense;
            (2) the Department of Energy;
            (3) the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
            (4) the General Services Administration.
    (c) Requirement.--In carrying out the program, the Secretary shall 
leverage existing procurement mechanisms.
    (d) Evaluation.--Using the guidelines of the Federal Energy 
Management Program relating to whole-building evaluation, measurement, 
and verification, the Secretary shall evaluate the costs and benefits 
of the buildings selected under this section including an 
identification of--
            (1) which advanced building technologies--
                    (A) are most cost-effective; and
                    (B) show the most promise for--
                            (i) increasing building energy savings;
                            (ii) increasing service performance to 
                        building occupants; and
                            (iii) reducing environmental impacts; and
            (2) any other information the Secretary determines to be 
        appropriate.

SEC. 6. LEVERAGING EXISTING PROGRAMS.

    (a) Better Building Challenge.--As part of the Better Building 
Challenge of the Department of Energy, the Secretary shall develop a 
smart building accelerator in consultation with major private sector 
property owners to demonstrate innovative policies and approaches that 
will accelerate the transition to smart buildings.
    (b) Research and Development.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct research and 
        development to address key barriers to the integration of 
        advanced building technologies and to accelerate the transition 
        to smart buildings.
            (2) Inclusion.--The research and development conducted 
        under paragraph (1) shall include research and development on--
                    (A) physical components, such as sensors and 
                controls;
                    (B) reducing the cost of key components to 
                accelerate the adoption of smart building technologies;
                    (C) data management, including the capture and 
                analysis of data and the interoperability of the energy 
                systems;
                    (D) business models, including how business models 
                may limit the adoption of smart building technologies 
                and how to support transactive energy;
                    (E) characterization of buildings and components;
                    (F) consumer and utility protections;
                    (G) continuous management, including the challenges 
                of managing multiple energy systems and optimizing 
                systems for disparate stakeholders; and
                    (H) other areas of research and development, as 
                determined appropriate by the Secretary.

SEC. 7. REPORT.

    Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 
House of Representatives a report on--
            (1) the survey and evaluation of private sector smart 
        buildings carried out under section 4;
            (2) the evaluation of Federal smart buildings carried out 
        under section 5; and
            (3) any recommendations of the Secretary to further 
        accelerate the transition to smart buildings.
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