ACHIEVING ENERGY SAVINGS IN CALIFORNIA BUILDINGS

Here are some recommendations moving forward as part of a regulatory proceeding at the California Energy Commission:

* Mandate all commercial new construction be Zero Net Energy (ZNE) by 2030. ZNE means that over a year that your building generates as much energy onsite as it pulls from the grid.

* Have the CEC use fines and penalties to enforce energy code at the state level;

* Use a “societal value” to calculate cost effectiveness for Zero Net Energy. In other words, change the current objective cost calculations required to pass energy code and add in a “subjective” component that will allow mandates for technology that will not pay for itself.

* Develop “reach” standards (as opposed to incremental “reachable” standards) for adoption at the local level and be included into CALGreen.

* Increase Title 24 requirements by jumps of 20-30% each adoption over the next three cycles.

* Require public building rating disclosures.

* Require energy efficiency improvements in existing buildings not tied to a scheduled improvement.

* Mandate a time-of-sale or time period trigger for upgrades and disclosures.

* Shift responsibility on to building owners and managers for reducing tenant plug-loads.

Yes, this is actually all happening now in a regulatory process. Some find it hard to believe that policymakers are considering such an aggressive statewide policy. Click below to read the recommendations for yourself:

Saving Energy in Existing Buildings and Achieving a Zero‐Net‐Energy Future

Contact us if you have any thoughts or opinions on how this might impact your business or to get more involved in the public process.