Utah Energy Star

Change in EPA Energy Star Transition Timeline

leeann — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:24:07 +0000

Notification from EPA Energy Star on new changes – Aug. 22, 2011

Dear ENERGY STAR partners,

After extensive consideration, EPA is adjusting the overall implementation timeline of the ENERGY STAR for Homes program requirements and two specific items related to HVAC design. EPA believes that these changes will position the program for greater success in the long-term and better achieve its market transformation goals. Specific changes include the following:

1. While all homes permitted on or after January 1, 2012 must still be built to the Version 3 requirements, EPA is allowing homes permitted in 2011 to continue to be qualified under the transitional Version 2.5 guidelines through June 30, 2012. Previously, homes permitted in 2011, but completed on or after January 1, 2012 would have also been required to be labeled using the Version 3 guidelines.

2. On the HVAC System Quality Installation Contractor Checklist, for homes with final inspection dates through 12/31/2012, loads and room-level design airflows shall be permitted to be calculated for the configuration that will result in the largest load when a house plan is built with multiple configurations (e.g., orientations, elevations, options).

3. On the HVAC System Quality Installation Rater Checklist, for homes with a final inspection date through 12/31/2012, Item 1.2.1 is permitted to be within +/- 5 degrees of the 1% and 99% ACCA Manual J design temperatures for the contractor-designated design location. In addition, for each house plan with multiple configurations (e.g., orientations, elevations, options), the Rater shall confirm that the parameters listed in Items 1.2.2 – 1.2.6 are aligned with either: the rated home, or with the plans for the configuration used to calculate the loads, as provided by the contractor.

4. On the HVAC System Quality Installation Rater Checklist, homes with a final inspection date through 12/31/2012 are permitted to be qualified without enforcement of the pressure-balancing requirement in Item 2.8.The program is already beginning to achieve meaningful energy savings under the transitional Version 2.5 guidelines as many ENERGY STAR builder partners are making significant strides to incorporate the new and more rigorous program requirements into their operations. However, due to the continued weakness in the marketplace, many homes that were permitted in 2011 and expected to be completed by the end of the year are now expected to slip into 2012. As a result, partners that were intending to qualify homes using the Version 2.5 guidelines would have been subject to Version 3 requirements. Regarding the HVAC timeline extensions, several partners have indicated that for house plans with multiple configurations (e.g., orientations, elevations, options), additional time is needed to finish systematically reevaluating all possible plan permutations and to develop new processes to manage this new volume of analysis and information.

Note that while these changes take effect immediately, they will formally be included in policy documents, along with other modifications, clarifications, and refinements, in Revision 04, which is expected to be finalized within the next week. All partners will be notified via email when these documents are available.

Notice for partners participating in regional or utility-sponsored programs:

It is important to note that regional and/or utility incentive programs may choose to retain previous implementation timelines when defining the eligibility for special designations or incentives from their programs. Be sure to check with your local program representatives for more information, and note that some time may be required for them to evaluate the impact of these changes on their program. Also note that regional guidelines have been or are being developed for Hawaii, Florida, California, and the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho). Therefore, the changes announced in this email are not applicable to these regions; rather, those regional guidelines will be updated with relevant changes on an individual basis.

Thank you for your feedback and continued support of the program. If you have questions, please contact us at energystarhomes@energystar.gov.

Best Regards,

The ENERGY STAR for New Homes Team

Priority ENERGY STAR for Homes Partner Update

leeann — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:42:03 +0000

On April 25^th the Rocky Mountain Power ENERGY STAR New Homes program sent an email to participating raters and builders announcing a request to change the ENERGY STAR light fixture incentive. This change, which reduces the incentive for an ENERGY STAR light fixture from $50 to $20, has been approved by the Utah Public Service Commission with an effective date of May 21^st, 2011. The result of this change is that all homes permitted on or after May 21^st, 2011 will be eligible for $20 per ENERGY STAR light fixture in ENERGY STAR qualified homes. Homes permitted prior to May 21^st, 2011 are eligible to receive $50 per ENERGY STAR light fixture.

In a continuing effort to maintain compliance with the program tariff the Rocky Mountain Power ENERGY STAR New Homes program has determined that the ENERGY STAR light fixture incentive can be available only for homes applying for Tier 1 incentives. Payment for additional compact fluorescent light bulbs or Tier 2 homes as well as payment for the fixture in which the bulb is placed is not in compliance with the intent of the program tariff. Incentive requests for homes with light bulb and light fixture incentive requests will have the lesser of the two incentive requests removed from the application.

To verify program compliance, any incentive application which includes a request for $50 per fixture will need to contain the permit date for the home. The permit date will be required for all batch homes as well as test homes requesting one or more fixture incentives. The permit date is required to be included in addition to the certificate of occupancy date, not in place of the certificate of occupancy date.

In addition you are encouraged to verify that the CFLs and lighting you purchase are qualified by the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Program.[1] Program and Tariff rules require these products be qualified and as such your HERS rater and/or the program administrator may request qualification documentation for these products.

As partners in the Rocky Mountain Power ENERGY STAR New Homes Program we appreciate your continued support. We welcome your comments and suggestions as we strive to improve the ENERGY STAR New Homes program.

Please contact us at (855)269-8386 or e-mail Newhomes@rockymountainpower.net. You may also visit www.rockymountainpower.net/energystar for more information pertaining to the program.

New RMP Incentive Request Form Info!

leeann — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 18:35:23 +0000

In accordance with what was discussed at the builder/rater meeting in January, all 2011 homes must have the certificate of occupancy on the inspection worksheet before it will be processed for an incentive. This includes both test homes and batch homes. Here is the verbiage that was delivered at the meeting:

Rocky Mountain Power recently filed a request with the Public Service Commission of Utah to change Electric Service Schedule No. 110 by removing references to specific years in the Program tariff. The request was approved on January 27, 2011. As a result, Incentive Request Forms for homes built in the 2011 Program year must be received within 120 days from the certificate of occupancy. This new submission deadline applies to all incentive submissions moving forward.
Effective Date: January 27, 2011.

Energy Star Implementation Timeline Adjustment

leeann — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:17:30 +0000

The transition from Version 2 to 3 of EPA’s ENERGY STAR for New Homes Program represents the most significant change since the inception of the program. EPA created Version 2.5 as a critical but short-term transition specification that would help partners prepare for full implementation of Version 3 in 2012. During this period, EPA is willing to provide flexibility to help partners prepare for long-term success under v3.In response to partner feedback, EPA made a policy decision in December 2010 to postpone the implementation date of Version 2.5 to homes permitted after April 1, 2011, instead of January 1, 2011. However, EPA did not change the corresponding July 1, 2011 completion deadline for homes permitted prior to April 1, 2011. Partners have noted that this policy created a very short timeframe for homes to be completed under Version 2 or improved to meet the requirements for Version 2.5. In response to this feedback, EPA will allow homes permitted before April 1, 2011 to be qualified under Version 2 until December 31, 2011. Homes completed after January 1, 2012 must be qualified under Version 3. EPA is not adjusting the implementation schedule for homes permitted after April 1, 2011 and strongly encourages partners to move to Version 2.5 as soon as possible.

Completing projects under Version 2.5 will give builders valuable experience implementing new energy efficiency upgrades and applying the expanded inspection checklists. Early feedback has confirmed that taking full advantage of Version 2.5 reduces errors and rework and identifies cost-saving strategies to meet the Version 3 guidelines. Without the experience gained through this transitional period, partners may face significant challenges qualifying homes under Version 3.

This change does not affect the Version 3 implementation date of January 1, 2012 (except for projects that fall under the low-income financing exemption detailed in the full timeline). Implementing the Version 3 guidelines on January 1, 2012 will protect the integrity of the program in light of aggressive code changes, maintain coordination with partner programs, and reward the significant investments already made by partners in preparation for Version 3.

It is important to note that regional and/or utility incentive programs may choose to retain the previous implementation timeline when defining the eligibility for special designations or incentives from their programs. Be sure to check with your local program representatives for more information. EPA will update the ENERGY STAR Web site and program materials soon to reflect this change. Thank you for your continued support of the program. Please direct questions to energystarhomes@energystar.gov.