[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2335 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 272
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2335
[Report No. 116-151]
To accelerate smart building development, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 30, 2019
Ms. Cantwell (for herself and Ms. Smith) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
October 24, 2019
Reported by Ms. Murkowski, without amendment
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To accelerate smart building development, and for other purposes.
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 of
2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the building sector uses more than 40 percent of the
energy of the United States;
(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 the emerging technologies, promote the adoption of the
technologies, and accelerate the transition to the
technologies;
(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) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the
Department of Energy.
(2) Program.--The term ``program'' means the Federal Smart
Building Program established under section 4(a).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(4) Smart building.--The term ``smart building'' means a
building, or collection of buildings, 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) takes a systems-based approach in integrating
the overall building operations for control of energy
generation, consumption, and storage;
(D) communicates with utilities and other third-
party commercial entities, if appropriate;
(E) protects the health and safety of occupants and
workers; and
(F) is cybersecure.
(5) Smart building accelerator.--The term ``smart building
accelerator'' means an initiative that is designed to
demonstrate specific innovative policies and approaches--
(A) with clear goals and a clear timeline; and
(B) that, on successful demonstration, would
accelerate investment in energy efficiency.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL SMART BUILDING PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the
Administrator of General Services, establish a program to be known as
the ``Federal Smart Building Program''--
(1) to implement smart building technology; and
(2) to demonstrate the costs and benefits of smart
buildings.
(b) Selection.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall coordinate the
selection of not fewer than 1 building from among each of
several key Federal agencies, as described in subsection (d),
to compose an appropriately diverse set of smart buildings
based on size, type, and geographic location.
(2) Inclusion of commercially operated buildings.--In
making selections under paragraph (1), the Secretary may
include buildings that are owned by the Federal Government but
are commercially operated.
(c) Targets.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall establish targets for the number of
smart buildings to be commissioned and evaluated by key Federal
agencies by 3 years and 6 years after the date of enactment of this
Act.
(d) Federal Agency Described.--The key Federal agencies referred to
subsection (b)(1) shall include buildings operated by--
(1) the Department of the Army;
(2) the Department of the Navy;
(3) the Department of the Air Force;
(4) the Department of Energy;
(5) the Department of the Interior;
(6) the Department of Veterans Affairs; and
(7) the General Services Administration.
(e) Requirement.--In implementing the program, the Secretary shall
leverage existing financing mechanisms including energy savings
performance contracts, utility energy service contracts, and annual
appropriations.
(f) 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;
(iii) reducing environmental impacts; and
(iv) establishing cybersecurity; and
(2) any other information the Secretary determines to be
appropriate.
(g) Awards.--The Secretary may expand awards made under the Federal
Energy Management Program and the Better Building Challenge to
recognize specific agency achievements in accelerating the adoption of
smart building technologies.
SEC. 5. SURVEY OF PRIVATE SECTOR SMART BUILDINGS.
(a) Survey.--The Secretary shall conduct a survey of privately
owned smart buildings throughout the United States, including
commercial buildings, laboratory facilities, hospitals, multifamily
residential 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 not fewer than 1 building
each from an appropriate range of building sizes, types, and geographic
locations.
(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 and systems--
(A) are most cost-effective; and
(B) show the most promise for--
(i) increasing building energy savings;
(ii) increasing service performance to
building occupants;
(iii) reducing environmental impacts; and
(iv) establishing cybersecurity; 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, the Secretary, in consultation with major
private sector property owners, shall develop smart building
accelerators to demonstrate innovative policies and approaches that
will accelerate the transition to smart buildings in the public,
institutional, and commercial buildings sectors.
(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) achieving whole-building, systems-level
efficiency through smart system and component
integration;
(B) improving physical components, such as sensors
and controls, to be adaptive, anticipatory, and
networked;
(C) reducing the cost of key components to
accelerate the adoption of smart building technologies;
(D) data management, including the capture and
analysis of data and the interoperability of the energy
systems;
(E) protecting against cybersecurity threats and
addressing security vulnerabilities of building systems
or equipment;
(F) business models, including how business models
may limit the adoption of smart building technologies
and how to support transactive energy;
(G) integration and application of combined heat
and power systems and energy storage for resiliency;
(H) characterization of buildings and components;
(I) consumer and utility protections;
(J) continuous management, including the challenges
of managing multiple energy systems and optimizing
systems for disparate stakeholders; and
(K) other areas of research and development, as
determined appropriate by the Secretary.
SEC. 7. REPORT.
Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and
every 2 years thereafter until a total of 3 reports have been made, the
Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the
Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of
Representatives a report on--
(1) the establishment of the Federal Smart Building Program
and the evaluation of Federal smart buildings under section 4;
(2) the survey and evaluation of private sector smart
buildings under section 5; and
(3) any recommendations of the Secretary to further
accelerate the transition to smart buildings.
Calendar No. 272
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2335
[Report No. 116-151]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To accelerate smart building development, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 24, 2019
Reported without amendment