Request for Information (RFI) for Commercial Building Energy Asset Score, 9042-9044 [2013-02753]

Download as PDF 9042 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2013 / Notices equipped with a water softener under the current DOE test procedure may lead to information that could be considered misleading to consumers. 1. Identification of Basic Models The Dishwasher models manufactured by BSH which contain an integrated water softener and were not included in previous Waiver applications is as follows: Bosch brand: • Basic Model—SHE43T5### • Basic Model—SHX43T5### • Basic Model—SHE33T5### Kenmore brand: • Basic Model—S38KML4### • Basic Model—S48KML2### • Basic Model—S48KML3### • Basic Model—S38KML5### • Basic Model—S37KMK2### Gaggenau brand: • Basic Model—DF261761 • Basic Model—DF260761 mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 2. Background The design characteristic that is unique among the above listed models is an integrated water softener. The primary function of a water softener is to reduce the high mineral content of ‘‘hard’’ water. Hard water reduces the effectiveness of detergents leading to additional detergent usage. Hard water also causes increased water spots on dishware, resulting in the need to use more rinse aid to counterbalance this effect. ‘‘Hard’’ water can reduce customer satisfaction with Dishwasher performance resulting in increased pre-rinsing and/or hand washing as well as increased detergent and rinse agent usage. The water softening process requires water usage for both the regeneration process and to flush the system. For purposes of this Waiver request, the term ‘‘regeneration’’ will include the water and energy used in both the flushing and regeneration process of the water softener. The water used in the regeneration process is in addition to the water used in the dish washing process. The water used in the regeneration process does not occur with each use of the Dishwasher. The frequency of the regeneration process is dependent upon an adjustable water softener setting that is controlled by the end user, and based on the home water hardness. Regeneration frequency will vary greatly depending upon the customer setting of the water softener. Data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows considerable variation in the water hardness within the U.S. and for many locations the use of a water softener is not necessary. Water hardness varies throughout the U.S. with the mean hardness of 217 mg/ liter or 12.6 grains/gallon (based on information provided by the U.S. Geological Survey located at https://water.usgs.gov/owq/ hardness-alkalinity.html). Calculations Water Use • Based on the DOE Energy Test for Dishwashers, the BSH Dishwashers listed in this waiver with an internal water softener use an average of approximately 9 liters of water per dish cleaning cycle. • Based on an average U.S. water hardness of 12.6 grains/gallon, the internal BSH VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:45 Feb 06, 2013 Jkt 229001 Dishwasher water softener system would be set on ‘‘3’’. • Based on a BSH Dishwasher internal water softening system setting of ‘‘3’’ and the dishwasher using 9 liters of water per run, the water regeneration process would occur every 6th cycle. • When using the Dishwasher 215 times per year (per DOE test procedure), the regeneration process would occur 35.8 times (36). • The internal BSH water softening system uses approximately 5.0 per regeneration cycle. • Water usage calculation based on above data. Æ 36 × 5 = 180 liters per year (47.6 gallons) or .84 liters (.22 gallons) each time the dishwasher is used. Energy Used in kWh • Formula W = V × T × K Æ V = Weighted Average Water Usage per DOE Æ T = Nominal water heater temperature rise of 39° C Æ K = Specific heat of water 0.00115 • Calculated Energy use—180 × 39 × .00115 = 8.0 kWh/yr Summary • A Dishwasher built by BSH with an integrated water softener in a home with a 12.6 grain per gallon water hardness would be cycled through the water softening regeneration process approximately every 6 dish cleaning cycles. When the water used in the water softener regeneration process is apportioned evenly over all dishwasher runs, the amount of energy and water usage per cycle is very low. Based on the assumptions provided, BSH estimates the typical water used in the internal Dishwasher water softener regeneration process at .84 liters (.22 gallons) per use; furthermore, using about 8.0 kWh per year to heat this water in the home hot water heater. 3. Requirements Sought To Be Waived Dishwashers are subjected to test methods outlined in 10 CFR Part 430, Subpart B, App. C, Section 4.3, which specifies the method for the water energy calculation. • BSH is requesting approval to estimate the water and energy used in the water softening process based on the design of the BSH Dishwasher and the calculations and assumptions outlined above. 4. Grounds for Waiver and Interim Waiver 10 CFR 430.27(a)(1) provides that a Petition to waive a requirement of 430.23 may be submitted upon grounds that the basic model contains one or more design characteristics which either prevent testing of the basic model according to the prescribed test procedures, or the prescribed test procedures may evaluate the basic model in a manner so unrepresentative of its true energy consumption characteristics as to provide materially inaccurate comparative data. If a water softener regeneration process was to occur while running an energy test, the water usage would be overstated. In this case, the water energy usage would be unrepresentative of the product providing PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 inaccurate data resulting in a competitive disadvantage to BSH. Granting of an Interim Waiver in this case is justified since the prescribed test procedures would potentially evaluate the basic model in a manner so unrepresentative of its true energy consumption characteristics as to provide materially inaccurate comparative data. In addition, a similar Interim Waiver and Waiver have previously been granted to BSH. 5. Manufacturers of Similar Products and Affected Manufacturers Web based research shows that at least two other manufacturers are currently selling dishwashers with an integrated water softener, Miele Inc. and Whirlpool Corporation (Waiver Granted). Manufacturers selling dishwashers in the United States include AGA Marvel, Arcelik A.S., ASKO Appliances, Inc., Electrolux North America, Inc., Fagor America, Inc., Fisher & Paykel Appliances, GE Appliances and Lighting, Haier America, Indesit Company Sa, Teka USA, Inc., LG Electronics USA, Miele, Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Viking Range Corporation and Whirlpool Corporation. BSH will notify all companies listed above (as well as AHAM), as required by the Department’s rules, providing them with a copy of this Petition for Waiver and Interim Waiver. 6. Conclusion BSH Home Appliances Corporation hereby requests approval of the Waiver petition and Interim Waiver. By granting said Waivers the Department of Energy will further ensure that water energy is measured in the same way by all Dishwasher Manufacturer’s that have a integrated water softener. Further, BSH would request that these Waivers be in good standing until such time that the test procedure can be formally modified to account for integrated water softeners. BSH Home Appliances certifies that all manufacturers of domestic Dishwashers as listed above have been notified by letter. With Best Regards, Mike Edwards Senior Engineer, Performance and Consumption BSH Home Appliances Corporation (FNbG) 100 Bosch Blvd., Building 102 New Bern, NC 28562–6924 mike.edwards@bshg.com Phone (252) 672–9161 Fax (949) 809 6177 [FR Doc. 2013–02751 Filed 2–6–13; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Request for Information (RFI) for Commercial Building Energy Asset Score Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy. AGENCY: E:\FR\FM\07FEN1.SGM 07FEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2013 / Notices Notice for Request for Information. ACTION: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a preliminary commercial building energy asset score (hereinafter ‘‘score’’). The score provides information regarding the efficiency of a building’s major energy consuming systems and is intended to enable greater understanding of building performance and potential savings. DOE is developing this voluntary program as part of its effort to achieve a 20 percent improvement in the energy efficiency of commercial buildings by 2020. DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before March 11, 2013. ADDRESSES: Submit comments via email to asset.score@ee.doe.gov or send mail to: Joan Glickman, Attn: Commercial Building Asset Score RFI, EE–2J, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joan Glickman, asset.score@ee.doe.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The methodology used to score buildings and generate other relevant information is described in detail in the document entitled ‘‘Commercial Building Energy Asset Score: Program Overview and Technical Protocol Version 1.0’’ (hereinafter ‘‘the Protocol’’). This request for information (RFI) seeks input on the following three components of the Protocol: 1. Data collection and validation; 2. The asset score report; and 3. Score durability. This RFI provides an overview of the three program components. Additional detail on each of the three topics is provided in the Protocol. Stakeholders are encouraged to download the Protocol, which is available at the following link: https://www1.eere.energy. gov/buildings/commercial_initiative/ pdfs/energy_asset_score_technical_ protocol_phase1.pdf This is the second RFI that DOE has issued related to the score. On August 8, 2011, DOE issued an RFI seeking input to inform overall development of the voluntary program. In addition, DOE conducted market research and outreach to better understand the perspective of industry and other interested groups. These efforts, along with initial pilot testing of the score with commercial building owners and operators in 2012, informed the development of the current score. More information on the asset score development process can be found at this site: https://www1.eere. energy.gov/buildings/commercial/ assetscore.html. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:45 Feb 06, 2013 Jkt 229001 DOE plans to continue to work with commercial building owners and operators to pilot test the score in 2013, including application of the score to additional building types. During this testing period, DOE will continue to refine the program as well as conduct additional analysis to inform future program development. Future development of the program will continue to be guided by previously established principles, as described in Section 2.2 of the Protocol. In brief, the system must produce credible scores and useful information at an affordable cost. 1. Data Collection and Validation To obtain an energy asset score using the tool, building owners must input at least the minimum required set of information about a building. This ‘‘simple-level’’ use of the tool requires filling in approximately 20–30 data fields. Based on this information, the tool produces a preliminary report not intended to be used for official purposes such as public display or a real estate transaction. DOE recommends that building owners who want to display a report publicly or use the score for transactional purposes obtain an advanced report, which requires completion of approximately 60–80 fields of data and will likely also require that the data is validated and submitted by a person qualified to collect this information. When a user leaves a nonrequired data entry field blank, the tool uses a default value (an estimate based on the building type, location, and age) to complete the energy model. A preliminary data input list for the simple and the advanced use levels can be found in Appendix C of the Protocol. DOE is collecting feedback on the data collection process through pilot testing. The full list will not be finalized until after a pilot period, during which users can respond to the usefulness of the results and the difficulty of data collection. The total time required for the simple-level score is estimated to be 6–8 hours; the total time required for the advanced-level data collection is estimated to be less than 20 hours. The simple-level time estimate was tested during the first pilot project in 2012 and will be further tested during the second pilot project in 2013. DOE invites comments from respondents on the preliminary data classification, data collection time, and method that can be used to maintain a balance between reasonable cost of data collection and acceptable accuracy of results. In addition to seeking input on data required for the simple and advanced scores, DOE also invites input on PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 9043 methods that can be used to validate scores in cases where a score is being used for official purposes (e.g., marketing to lessees, real estate sales). Considerations might include assessor qualification requirements, methods for verifying or testing assessor qualifications, as well as quality assurance requirements and implementation options. 2. Energy Asset Score Report The energy asset scoring tool produces a report that includes four sections: A whole-building score, a system evaluation, identified opportunities for improvement, and a description of building assets. The primary modeling output of the energy asset scoring tool is the energy use intensity (EUI), which is used to generate the energy asset score. No baseline buildings are needed because the calculated EUI is placed on a fixed scale. Two sets of scores and associated modeled EUIs are presented on the same energy asset score scale: Current score and potential score. System evaluations are provided for building components, including envelope (roof, wall, window), lighting, heating, cooling, and service hot water systems. This information can help users identify parts of the building in need of attention. Two buildings with the same energy asset score may have different system evaluations. These evaluations can give users insight into their building’s strengths and weaknesses. Based on the entered building information, the energy asset scoring tool also identifies potential improvement opportunities in each system evaluated. Section 5 of the Protocol provides detailed descriptions of the score calculations, system evaluations methods, and the generation of a costeffective upgrade package. DOE welcomes comments on critical information to be included in the energy asset score report and the methodology used to evaluate systems and generate recommendations. 3. Durability of Energy Asset Score DOE expects that a building’s score will remain current for at least 10 years, as long as the building does not undergo significant infrastructure changes including replacement of asset-related energy systems. If DOE makes any significant changes to the scoring methodology or tool, users will be notified and can receive an updated energy asset score report based on the latest version of the scoring tool. After establishing 100-point scales for all relevant building types, DOE expects E:\FR\FM\07FEN1.SGM 07FEN1 9044 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 26 / Thursday, February 7, 2013 / Notices that the scales can remain static for at least 10 years. The overall efficiency of the U.S. building stock is not expected to change dramatically enough to warrant scale revisions within 10 years. Although building equipment will degrade over time, equipment performance is affected by multiple factors, most of which are related to operation and maintenance. Given this combination of influences, equipment degradation is not accounted for in the score and will not affect the durability of the score. DOE will incorporate new software releases of EnergyPlus as they are developed. However, DOE expects that most new features that extend modeling capability or increase simulation speed will have little effect on the energy asset score. If a software update of EnergyPlus or other updates to the scoring tool result in a change of the modeling results, prior users of the tool will receive an updated score report. More information about the score durability is described in Section 3.2.4 of the Protocol. DOE welcomes stakeholder comments on the durability of the energy asset score scale and the period for which a building should be able to maintain its score. Submitting Comments to DOE DOE invites comments on all elements discussed above, as well as additional issues that respondents deem important. Specifically, DOE requests comments on (1) Data classification for the simple and advanced levels of tool use as well as score validation methods; (2) critical information to be included in the energy asset score report; and (3) durability of the energy asset scores. Comments may be submitted in writing via direct mail or email within on or before March 11, 2013. Please limit comments to no more than 3 pages per program area, not to exceed a total of 8 pages. mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Disclaimer and Important Notes 17:45 Feb 06, 2013 Jkt 229001 Issued in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2013. Kathleen B. Hogan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. [FR Doc. 2013–02753 Filed 2–6–13; 8:45 am] This is an RFI issued solely for information and program planning purposes; this RFI does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or abstracts. Your response to this notice will be treated as information only. DOE will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this RFI. Respondents are advised that DOE is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI. Responses to this RFI do not bind DOE to any further actions related to this topic. VerDate Mar<15>2010 Confidential Business Information According to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information he or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit via email, postal mail, or hand delivery/courier two well-marked copies: One copy of the document marked confidential including all the information believed to be confidential, and one copy of the document marked non-confidential with the information believed to be confidential deleted. Submit these documents via email or on a CD, if feasible. DOE will make its own determination about the confidential status of the information and treat it according to its determination. Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat submitted information as confidential include: (1) A description of the items; (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is generally known by or available from other sources; (4) whether the information has previously been made available to others without obligation concerning its confidentiality; (5) an explanation of the competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from public disclosure; (6) when such information might lose its confidential character due to the passage of time; and (7) why disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest. It is DOE’s policy that all comments may be included in the public docket, without change and as received, including any personal information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be exempt from public disclosure). BILLING CODE 6450–01–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL–9777–4] Adequacy Status of the Motor Vehicle Emission Budgets for Metropolitan Washington DC Area (DC–MD–VA) 1997 8-Hour Ozone Non-Attainment Area’s 2009 Attainment Plan and 2010 Contingency Plan Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). AGENCY: PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 ACTION: Notice of adequacy. In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that the Motor Vehicle Emissions Budgets (MVEBs) for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) in the 2009 Attainment Plan and 2010 Contingency Plan submitted as a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision on June 4, 2007 by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and June 12, 2007 by both the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VADEQ) and the District of Columbia Department of Health (DCDOH) are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. As a result of EPA’s finding, the Washington DC–MD–VA Nonattainment Area for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (the Metropolitan Washington Area) must use the MVEBs from the June 4, 2007 and June 12, 2007 Attainment Plan and Contingency Plan for future conformity determinations for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. DATES: The adequacy finding for MVEBs for VOCs and NOX is effective February 22, 2013. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin Kotsch, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 at (215) 814–3335 or by email at: kotsch.martin@epa.gov. The finding is available at EPA’s conformity Web site: https://www.epa.gov/otaq/ stateresources/transconf/currsips.htm. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The word ‘‘budgets’’ refers to the motor vehicle emission budgets for VOCs and NOX. The word ‘‘SIP’’ in this document refers to the Attainment Plan and Contingency Plan for the Metropolitan Washington Area, 1997 8-Hour Ozone Nonattainment Area submitted to EPA as a SIP revision on June 4, 2007 by MDE and June 12, 2007 by VADEQ and DCDOH. Today’s notice is simply an announcement of a finding that EPA has already made. In this notice, EPA is notifying the public that we have found that the MVEBs in the 2009 Attainment Plan and 2010 Contingency Plan, submitted on June 4, 2007 by MDE and June 12, 2007 by VADEQ and DCDOH, are adequate for transportation conformity purposes. As a result of EPA’s finding, the Metropolitan Washington Area must use the MVEBs from the 2009 Attainment Plan and 2010 Contingency Plan for future conformity determinations for the 1997 8-hour ozone standard. This finding has also been announced on EPA’s conformity Web site: https:// SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\07FEN1.SGM 07FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 26 (Thursday, February 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9042-9044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02753]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy


Request for Information (RFI) for Commercial Building Energy 
Asset Score

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

[[Page 9043]]


ACTION: Notice for Request for Information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a 
preliminary commercial building energy asset score (hereinafter 
``score''). The score provides information regarding the efficiency of 
a building's major energy consuming systems and is intended to enable 
greater understanding of building performance and potential savings. 
DOE is developing this voluntary program as part of its effort to 
achieve a 20 percent improvement in the energy efficiency of commercial 
buildings by 2020.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before March 11, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments via email to asset.score@ee.doe.gov or send 
mail to: Joan Glickman, Attn: Commercial Building Asset Score RFI, EE-
2J, 1000 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joan Glickman, asset.score@ee.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The methodology used to score buildings and 
generate other relevant information is described in detail in the 
document entitled ``Commercial Building Energy Asset Score: Program 
Overview and Technical Protocol Version 1.0'' (hereinafter ``the 
Protocol''). This request for information (RFI) seeks input on the 
following three components of the Protocol:
    1. Data collection and validation;
    2. The asset score report; and
    3. Score durability.
    This RFI provides an overview of the three program components. 
Additional detail on each of the three topics is provided in the 
Protocol. Stakeholders are encouraged to download the Protocol, which 
is available at the following link: https://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/commercial_initiative/pdfs/energy_asset_score_technical_protocol_phase1.pdf
    This is the second RFI that DOE has issued related to the score. On 
August 8, 2011, DOE issued an RFI seeking input to inform overall 
development of the voluntary program. In addition, DOE conducted market 
research and outreach to better understand the perspective of industry 
and other interested groups. These efforts, along with initial pilot 
testing of the score with commercial building owners and operators in 
2012, informed the development of the current score. More information 
on the asset score development process can be found at this site: 
https://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/commercial/assetscore.html.
    DOE plans to continue to work with commercial building owners and 
operators to pilot test the score in 2013, including application of the 
score to additional building types. During this testing period, DOE 
will continue to refine the program as well as conduct additional 
analysis to inform future program development. Future development of 
the program will continue to be guided by previously established 
principles, as described in Section 2.2 of the Protocol. In brief, the 
system must produce credible scores and useful information at an 
affordable cost.

1. Data Collection and Validation

    To obtain an energy asset score using the tool, building owners 
must input at least the minimum required set of information about a 
building. This ``simple-level'' use of the tool requires filling in 
approximately 20-30 data fields. Based on this information, the tool 
produces a preliminary report not intended to be used for official 
purposes such as public display or a real estate transaction. DOE 
recommends that building owners who want to display a report publicly 
or use the score for transactional purposes obtain an advanced report, 
which requires completion of approximately 60-80 fields of data and 
will likely also require that the data is validated and submitted by a 
person qualified to collect this information. When a user leaves a non-
required data entry field blank, the tool uses a default value (an 
estimate based on the building type, location, and age) to complete the 
energy model.
    A preliminary data input list for the simple and the advanced use 
levels can be found in Appendix C of the Protocol. DOE is collecting 
feedback on the data collection process through pilot testing. The full 
list will not be finalized until after a pilot period, during which 
users can respond to the usefulness of the results and the difficulty 
of data collection. The total time required for the simple-level score 
is estimated to be 6-8 hours; the total time required for the advanced-
level data collection is estimated to be less than 20 hours. The 
simple-level time estimate was tested during the first pilot project in 
2012 and will be further tested during the second pilot project in 
2013. DOE invites comments from respondents on the preliminary data 
classification, data collection time, and method that can be used to 
maintain a balance between reasonable cost of data collection and 
acceptable accuracy of results.
    In addition to seeking input on data required for the simple and 
advanced scores, DOE also invites input on methods that can be used to 
validate scores in cases where a score is being used for official 
purposes (e.g., marketing to lessees, real estate sales). 
Considerations might include assessor qualification requirements, 
methods for verifying or testing assessor qualifications, as well as 
quality assurance requirements and implementation options.

2. Energy Asset Score Report

    The energy asset scoring tool produces a report that includes four 
sections: A whole-building score, a system evaluation, identified 
opportunities for improvement, and a description of building assets. 
The primary modeling output of the energy asset scoring tool is the 
energy use intensity (EUI), which is used to generate the energy asset 
score. No baseline buildings are needed because the calculated EUI is 
placed on a fixed scale. Two sets of scores and associated modeled EUIs 
are presented on the same energy asset score scale: Current score and 
potential score.
    System evaluations are provided for building components, including 
envelope (roof, wall, window), lighting, heating, cooling, and service 
hot water systems. This information can help users identify parts of 
the building in need of attention. Two buildings with the same energy 
asset score may have different system evaluations. These evaluations 
can give users insight into their building's strengths and weaknesses. 
Based on the entered building information, the energy asset scoring 
tool also identifies potential improvement opportunities in each system 
evaluated.
    Section 5 of the Protocol provides detailed descriptions of the 
score calculations, system evaluations methods, and the generation of a 
cost-effective upgrade package. DOE welcomes comments on critical 
information to be included in the energy asset score report and the 
methodology used to evaluate systems and generate recommendations.

3. Durability of Energy Asset Score

    DOE expects that a building's score will remain current for at 
least 10 years, as long as the building does not undergo significant 
infrastructure changes including replacement of asset-related energy 
systems. If DOE makes any significant changes to the scoring 
methodology or tool, users will be notified and can receive an updated 
energy asset score report based on the latest version of the scoring 
tool.
    After establishing 100-point scales for all relevant building 
types, DOE expects

[[Page 9044]]

that the scales can remain static for at least 10 years. The overall 
efficiency of the U.S. building stock is not expected to change 
dramatically enough to warrant scale revisions within 10 years.
    Although building equipment will degrade over time, equipment 
performance is affected by multiple factors, most of which are related 
to operation and maintenance. Given this combination of influences, 
equipment degradation is not accounted for in the score and will not 
affect the durability of the score.
    DOE will incorporate new software releases of EnergyPlus as they 
are developed. However, DOE expects that most new features that extend 
modeling capability or increase simulation speed will have little 
effect on the energy asset score. If a software update of EnergyPlus or 
other updates to the scoring tool result in a change of the modeling 
results, prior users of the tool will receive an updated score report.
    More information about the score durability is described in Section 
3.2.4 of the Protocol. DOE welcomes stakeholder comments on the 
durability of the energy asset score scale and the period for which a 
building should be able to maintain its score.

Submitting Comments to DOE

    DOE invites comments on all elements discussed above, as well as 
additional issues that respondents deem important. Specifically, DOE 
requests comments on (1) Data classification for the simple and 
advanced levels of tool use as well as score validation methods; (2) 
critical information to be included in the energy asset score report; 
and (3) durability of the energy asset scores.
    Comments may be submitted in writing via direct mail or email 
within on or before March 11, 2013. Please limit comments to no more 
than 3 pages per program area, not to exceed a total of 8 pages.

Disclaimer and Important Notes

    This is an RFI issued solely for information and program planning 
purposes; this RFI does not constitute a formal solicitation for 
proposals or abstracts. Your response to this notice will be treated as 
information only. DOE will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred 
in responding to this RFI. Respondents are advised that DOE is under no 
obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or 
provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information 
submitted under this RFI. Responses to this RFI do not bind DOE to any 
further actions related to this topic.

Confidential Business Information

    According to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information he 
or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public 
disclosure should submit via email, postal mail, or hand delivery/
courier two well-marked copies: One copy of the document marked 
confidential including all the information believed to be confidential, 
and one copy of the document marked non-confidential with the 
information believed to be confidential deleted. Submit these documents 
via email or on a CD, if feasible. DOE will make its own determination 
about the confidential status of the information and treat it according 
to its determination.
    Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat 
submitted information as confidential include: (1) A description of the 
items; (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as 
confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is 
generally known by or available from other sources; (4) whether the 
information has previously been made available to others without 
obligation concerning its confidentiality; (5) an explanation of the 
competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from 
public disclosure; (6) when such information might lose its 
confidential character due to the passage of time; and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest.
    It is DOE's policy that all comments may be included in the public 
docket, without change and as received, including any personal 
information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be 
exempt from public disclosure).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2013.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2013-02753 Filed 2-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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