Final Determination Regarding Energy Efficiency Improvements in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016: Energy Standard for Buildings, Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, 8463-8465 [2018-03931]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 39 / Tuesday, February 27, 2018 / Notices
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[FR Doc. 2018–03914 Filed 2–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[EERE–2017–BT–DET–0046]
Final Determination Regarding Energy
Efficiency Improvements in ANSI/
ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1–2016:
Energy Standard for Buildings, Except
Low-Rise Residential Buildings
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of order.
AGENCY:
After receiving and reviewing
public comments, the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE) issues this Order
finalizing DOE’s determination that the
2016 edition of the ANSI/ASHRAE/IES
Standard 90.1: Energy Standard for
Buildings, Except Low-Rise Residential
Buildings improves overall energy
efficiency in buildings subject to the
code compared to the 2013 edition of
Standard 90.1.
DATES: This Order applies as of
February 27, 2018.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the final analysis
is available at https://
www.energycodes.gov/development/
determinations.
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeremiah Williams; U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, 1000 Independence
PO 00000
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8463
Avenue SW, EE–5B, Washington, DC
20585; (202) 441–1288;
Jeremiah.Williams@ee.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Title III of the Energy Conservation
and Production Act, as amended
(ECPA), establishes requirements for
building energy conservation standards,
administered by the DOE Building
Energy Codes Program. (42 U.S.C. 6831
et seq.) Section 304(b), of ECPA, as
amended, provides that whenever the
ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1–
1989 (Standard 90.1–1989 or 1989
edition), or any successor to that code,
is revised, the Secretary of Energy
(Secretary) must make a determination,
not later than 12 months after such
revision, whether the revised code
would improve energy efficiency in
commercial buildings required to meet
the standard, and must publish notice of
such determination in the Federal
Register. (42 U.S.C. 6833(b)(2)(A)) If the
Secretary makes an affirmative
determination, within two years of the
publication of the determination, each
State is required to certify that it has
reviewed and updated the provisions of
its commercial building code regarding
energy efficiency with respect to the
revised or successor code and include in
its certification a demonstration that the
provisions of its commercial building
code, regarding energy efficiency, meet
or exceed the revised Standard. (42
U.S.C. 6833(b)(2)(B)(i))
Standard 90.1–2016, the most recent
edition, was published by ASHRAE in
October 2016, triggering the statutorilyrequired DOE review process. The
Standard is developed under ANSIapproved consensus procedures, and is
under continuous maintenance by an
ASHRAE Standing Standard Project
Committee (commonly referenced as
SSPC 90.1). ASHRAE has an established
program for regular publication of
addenda, or revisions, including
procedures for timely, documented,
consensus action on requested changes
to the Standard. More information on
the consensus process and ANSI/
ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1–2016 is
available at: https://www.ashrae.org/
resources-publications/bookstore/
standard-90-1.
To meet the statutory requirement,
DOE conducted a preliminary analysis
to quantify the expected energy savings
associated with Standard 90.1–2016
relative to the previous 2013 version.
The preliminary analysis is available at:
https://www.regulations.gov/
document?D=EERE-2014-BT-DET-00090001.
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Standard 90.1–2016 includes several
paths for compliance in order to provide
flexibility to users of the Standard. The
prescriptive path, which is widely
considered the most traditional,
establishes criteria for energy-related
characteristics of individual building
components such as minimum
insulation levels, maximum lighting
power, and controls for lighting and
HVAC&R systems. Some of those
requirements are considered
‘‘mandatory’’, meaning that they must
be met even when one of the other
optional paths are utilized (e.g.,
performance path). These other optional
paths are further described below.
In addition to the prescriptive path,
Standard 90.1 includes two optional
whole building performance paths. The
first, known as the Energy Cost Budget
(ECB) method, provides flexibility in
allowing a designer to ‘‘trade-off’’
compliance. This effectively allows a
designer to not meet a given prescriptive
requirement if the impact on energy cost
is offset by exceeding other prescriptive
requirements, as demonstrated through
established energy modeling protocols.
A building is deemed in compliance
when the annual energy cost of the
proposed design is no greater than the
annual energy cost of the reference
building design (baseline). In addition,
Standard 90.1–2016 includes a second
performance approach, Appendix G, the
Performance Rating Method. In previous
editions of Standard 90.1 (i.e., prior to
the current 2016 edition), Appendix G
has been used to rate the performance
of buildings that exceed the
requirements of Standard 90.1 for
‘‘beyond code’’ programs, including the
LEED Rating System, ASHRAE Standard
189.1, the International Green
Construction Code (IgCC), and other
above-code programs. Beginning with
the 2016 edition of Standard 90.1,
Appendix G also adds the capability to
demonstrate minimum energy code
compliance.
II. Public Participation and Error
Correction
In a July 25, 2017, Federal Register
notice, DOE requested public comments
on the preliminary analysis. (82 FR
34513) DOE received four public
comments, all of which DOE considered
(see Appendix A to this Order.). In
addition, a DOE review of the
simulation analysis identified a mistake
in how much outdoor ventilation air
was being introduced in two prototypes.
Correction of this mistake resulted in
savings increasing from .6% to 4.9% in
Large Office and an increase of less than
1% in Mid-rise Apartment. Overall
savings from the standard increased
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19:49 Feb 26, 2018
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from 6.7% to 6.8%. These corrections
were incorporated into the final analysis
document but did not impact the
determination ruling. DOE has now
issued the final analysis of the expected
energy savings associated with Standard
90.1–2016 as compared to Standard
90.1–2013. The final analysis is
available at: https://
www.energycodes.gov/development/
determinations.
III. Order
Based on the requirements of Section
304(b) of ECPA, as amended, and DOE’s
final analysis prepared after
consideration of comments on the
preliminary analysis and correction of
the simulation analysis describe above,
I have determined that the 2016 edition
of the ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard
90.1: Energy Standard for Buildings,
Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings
would improve overall energy efficiency
in buildings subject to the code
compared to the 2013 edition of
Standard 90.1.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 15,
2018.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy
Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy.
Appendix A
DOE received comments on the
preliminary analysis from the American
Chemistry Council (ACC) Plastics Division,
the ACC Foam Sheathing Committee, the
Responsible Energy Codes Alliance (RECA),
and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). The
comments are summarized below and are
available at: https://www.regulations.gov/
docket?D=EERE-2014-BT-DET-0009.
Addenda Scope
Comment: The ACC Plastics Division
commented that DOE’s analysis is too
conservative because it fails to consider the
impact of addenda only affecting existing
buildings. ACC’s Foam Sheathing Committee
expressed the same concern. ACC
recommended that DOE analyze provisions
affecting existing buildings for consistency
with statutory requirements and to provide
critical guidance to states.
DOE response: DOE notes that only one
addendum (addendum e) in the prescriptive
and mandatory requirements was applicable
to existing buildings only and, therefore, was
excluded from the quantitative analysis. In
addition, this addendum was determined to
decrease energy use through the qualitative
analysis, which was presented in the
preliminary determination. The majority of
addenda apply to new buildings and the
impact of these addenda was captured in the
analysis. The goal of the determination is to
evaluate whether the latest edition of
Standard 90.1 improves energy efficiency of
buildings relative to the previous edition,
and DOE believes that the current
PO 00000
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methodology is sufficient to make such a
determination.
Comment: The Responsible Energy Codes
Alliance (RECA) recommended that the
magnitude of the impact of requirements for
existing buildings in the Standard taken as a
whole should be evaluated.
DOE response: The impact of individual
addenda impacting existing buildings are
considered as part of DOE’s qualitative
analysis. However, baseline conditions for
existing building can vary significantly
depending upon a wide variety of factors,
including the age of the building, baseline
systems and components, and past
renovations. While these requirements are
part of the Standard and do impact energy
efficiency in commercial buildings, they
cannot be adequately represented by the
quantitative analysis.
Analyzing Compliance Paths
Comment: The ACC Plastics Division
stated that DOE’s analysis is too conservative
because it fails to consider the impact of
addenda affecting the performance paths for
compliance in Standard 90.1.
DOE response: DOE notes that evaluating
the prescriptive and mandatory requirements
effectively captures the impact of all
compliance paths within Standard 90.1–
2016. The performance paths within
Standard 90.1–2016 are intended to provide
equivalent performance to the prescriptive
path. As the energy efficiency stringency of
the prescriptive path is increased, the
performance path rules and targets are
changed to mirror that increase. Using the
prescriptive and mandatory requirements
therefore effectively represents changes to the
entire standard. Additionally, the purpose of
the performance paths is to give designers
and builders flexibility by allowing an almost
unlimited number of trade-off combinations
which will comply with the Standard.
Analytically, it is not practical or possible to
model all of these design combinations.
Comment: RECA also recommended that
DOE make a separate determination for each
of the compliance paths in Standard 90.1:
Prescriptive path, Energy Cost Budget, and
performance path.
DOE response: DOE believes that
evaluating the prescriptive and mandatory
requirements effectively captures the impact
of all compliance paths within Standard
90.1–2016 and is satisfactory for the purpose
of determining whether the new edition of
Standard 90.1 will save energy in commercial
buildings relative to the previous edition.
The performance paths within Standard
90.1–2016 are intended to provide equivalent
performance to the prescriptive path. As the
energy efficiency stringency of the
prescriptive path is increased, the
performance path rules and targets are
changed to mirror that increase. Thus
evaluating the performance paths separately,
even in simplified form, would provide no
additional information. The performance
paths provide designers and builders
flexibility by allowing trade-offs between
prescriptive requirements and makes the
Standard easier to comply with—a benefit for
states looking to adopt the new Standard.
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Site vs. Source Energy
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Comment: EEI’s first comment on this topic
was that DOE should only use site energy
and energy cost results in its determination
and that source energy results should not be
used.
DOE response: DOE notes that EEI
submitted a similar comment on the Notice
of Preliminary Determination for Standards
90.1–2010 and 2013. DOE continues to
believe that source energy estimates are of
interest to many stakeholders and are
important to the discussion of global
resources and environmental issues.
However, DOE realizes that site energy is the
energy that typically appears on utility bills
and that is seen by the consumer, and that
energy cost (as shown on energy bills) is a
metric also important to many consumers. It
is for these reasons that DOE provides all
three metrics—site energy, source energy,
and energy cost—in its determinations.
Comment: EEI also stated that the value
associated with source energy for electricity
overstates losses and does not appropriately
characterize the significant improvements in
the overall efficiency of the electricity sector
because: (1) DOE considered only
commercial customers; (2) the U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA) fossil fuel
heat rate assigned to renewable energy is too
high; (3) estimates of primary energy values
should look forward not backward; and (4)
estimates of primary energy values should
account for regional differences in electricity
generation and renewable portfolio
standards.
DOE response: DOE notes that EEI
submitted a similar comment on the Notice
of Preliminary Determination for Standards
90.1–2010 and 2013. DOE continues to
believe that its use of EIA data, conversion
factors, and treatment of renewable energy is
appropriate and remains consistent with past
determinations and DOE’s Appliance and
Equipment Standards Program (AESP)
analyses. While it is true that the site-tosource conversion factor used in this analysis
is derived from EIA data for commercial
sector energy use, analyzing the data from all
sectors results in the same conversion factor.
The determination methodology does not
calculate the future impact of the new
Standard, and thus DOE believes that using
conversion factors from the year of
publication of the Standard is appropriate.
DOE notes that it makes analyses available
for states on the future impact of energy
codes, which are beneficial for determining
the long-term benefits of new code adoption.
Finally, the use of the conversion factor from
2016 in this analysis also mitigates the
impact of using the fossil fuel equivalency
approach to determine the conversion factor
for electricity because the proportion of
renewable sources in the overall fuel mix was
very small in 2016.
[FR Doc. 2018–03931 Filed 2–26–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
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National Energy Technology
Laboratory
Notice of Intent To Grant a Partially
Exclusive License
National Energy Technology
Laboratory, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of intent to grant a
partially exclusive license.
AGENCY:
The National Energy
Technology Laboratory (NETL) hereby
gives notice that the Department of
Energy (DOE) intends to grant a partially
exclusive license to practice the
invention described and claimed in U.S.
Patent Application Number 15/782,315
and International Patent Application
Number PCT/US2017/056421, ‘‘Stable
Immobilized Amine Sorbents for REE
and Heavy Metal Recovery from Liquid
Sources’’ to PQ Corporation, having its
principal place of business in Malvern,
Pennsylvania. The invention is owned
by the United States of America, as
represented by DOE.
DATES: Written comments, objections, or
nonexclusive license applications must
be received at the ADDRESS listed no
later than March 14, 2018. Objections
submitted in response to this notice will
not be made available to the public for
inspection and, to the extent permitted
by law, will not be released under the
Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C.
552.
SUMMARY:
Comments, applications for
nonexclusive licenses, or objections
relating to the prospective partially
exclusive license should be submitted to
Jessica Lamp, Technology Transfer
Program Manager, U.S. Department of
Energy, National Energy Technology
Laboratory, P.O. Box 10940, Pittsburgh,
PA 15236–0940 or via facsimile to (412)
386–4183.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jessica Lamp, Technology Transfer
Program Manager, U.S. Department of
Energy, National Energy Technology
Laboratory, P.O. Box 10940, Pittsburgh,
PA 15236; Telephone (412) 386–7417;
Email: jessica.lamp@netl.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
209(c) of title 35 of the United States
Code gives DOE the authority to grant
exclusive or partially exclusive licenses
in Department-owned inventions where
a determination is made, among other
things, that the desired practical
application of the invention has not
been achieved, or is not likely to be
achieved expeditiously, under a
nonexclusive license. The statute and
implementing regulations (37 CFR 404)
ADDRESSES:
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8465
require that the necessary
determinations be made after public
notice and opportunity for filing written
comments and objections.
PQ Corporation, has applied for a
partially exclusive license to practice
the invention and has a plan for
commercialization of the invention.
DOE intends to grant the license, upon
a final determination in accordance
with 35 U.S.C. 209(c), unless within 15
days of publication of this notice,
NETL’s Technology Transfer Program
Manager (contact information listed)
receives in writing any of the following,
together with supporting documents:
(i) A statement from any person
setting forth reasons why it would not
be in the best interest of the United
States to grant the proposed license; or
(ii) An application for a nonexclusive
license to the invention, in which
applicant states that it already has
brought the invention to practical
application or is likely to bring the
invention to practical application
expeditiously.
The proposed license would be
partially exclusive, subject to a license
and other rights retained by the United
States, and subject to a negotiated
royalty. The exclusive fields of use are:
removal of rare earth elements from
liquids, coal tailings, fly ash and acid
mine drainage; removal of heavy metals,
such as copper, lead and arsenic from
liquids; and removal of barium and
strontium from liquids. DOE will review
all timely written responses to this
notice, and will grant the license if, after
expiration of the 15-day notice period,
and after consideration of any written
responses to this notice, a determination
is made in accordance with 35 U.S.C.
209(c) that the license is in the public
interest.
Dated: February 6, 2018.
Grace M. Bochenek,
Director, National Energy Technology
Laboratory.
[FR Doc. 2018–03936 Filed 2–26–18; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
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Notice of Request for Information (RFI)
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 39 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8463-8465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03931]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[EERE-2017-BT-DET-0046]
Final Determination Regarding Energy Efficiency Improvements in
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016: Energy Standard for Buildings,
Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings
AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of order.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: After receiving and reviewing public comments, the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) issues this Order finalizing DOE's
determination that the 2016 edition of the ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard
90.1: Energy Standard for Buildings, Except Low-Rise Residential
Buildings improves overall energy efficiency in buildings subject to
the code compared to the 2013 edition of Standard 90.1.
DATES: This Order applies as of February 27, 2018.
ADDRESSES: A copy of the final analysis is available at https://www.energycodes.gov/development/determinations.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremiah Williams; U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue SW, EE-5B, Washington, DC 20585; (202) 441-1288;
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Title III of the Energy Conservation and Production Act, as amended
(ECPA), establishes requirements for building energy conservation
standards, administered by the DOE Building Energy Codes Program. (42
U.S.C. 6831 et seq.) Section 304(b), of ECPA, as amended, provides that
whenever the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1989 (Standard 90.1-1989
or 1989 edition), or any successor to that code, is revised, the
Secretary of Energy (Secretary) must make a determination, not later
than 12 months after such revision, whether the revised code would
improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings required to meet the
standard, and must publish notice of such determination in the Federal
Register. (42 U.S.C. 6833(b)(2)(A)) If the Secretary makes an
affirmative determination, within two years of the publication of the
determination, each State is required to certify that it has reviewed
and updated the provisions of its commercial building code regarding
energy efficiency with respect to the revised or successor code and
include in its certification a demonstration that the provisions of its
commercial building code, regarding energy efficiency, meet or exceed
the revised Standard. (42 U.S.C. 6833(b)(2)(B)(i))
Standard 90.1-2016, the most recent edition, was published by
ASHRAE in October 2016, triggering the statutorily-required DOE review
process. The Standard is developed under ANSI-approved consensus
procedures, and is under continuous maintenance by an ASHRAE Standing
Standard Project Committee (commonly referenced as SSPC 90.1). ASHRAE
has an established program for regular publication of addenda, or
revisions, including procedures for timely, documented, consensus
action on requested changes to the Standard. More information on the
consensus process and ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016 is available
at: https://www.ashrae.org/resources-publications/bookstore/standard-90-1.
To meet the statutory requirement, DOE conducted a preliminary
analysis to quantify the expected energy savings associated with
Standard 90.1-2016 relative to the previous 2013 version. The
preliminary analysis is available at: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EERE-2014-BT-DET-0009-0001.
[[Page 8464]]
Standard 90.1-2016 includes several paths for compliance in order
to provide flexibility to users of the Standard. The prescriptive path,
which is widely considered the most traditional, establishes criteria
for energy-related characteristics of individual building components
such as minimum insulation levels, maximum lighting power, and controls
for lighting and HVAC&R systems. Some of those requirements are
considered ``mandatory'', meaning that they must be met even when one
of the other optional paths are utilized (e.g., performance path).
These other optional paths are further described below.
In addition to the prescriptive path, Standard 90.1 includes two
optional whole building performance paths. The first, known as the
Energy Cost Budget (ECB) method, provides flexibility in allowing a
designer to ``trade-off'' compliance. This effectively allows a
designer to not meet a given prescriptive requirement if the impact on
energy cost is offset by exceeding other prescriptive requirements, as
demonstrated through established energy modeling protocols. A building
is deemed in compliance when the annual energy cost of the proposed
design is no greater than the annual energy cost of the reference
building design (baseline). In addition, Standard 90.1-2016 includes a
second performance approach, Appendix G, the Performance Rating Method.
In previous editions of Standard 90.1 (i.e., prior to the current 2016
edition), Appendix G has been used to rate the performance of buildings
that exceed the requirements of Standard 90.1 for ``beyond code''
programs, including the LEED Rating System, ASHRAE Standard 189.1, the
International Green Construction Code (IgCC), and other above-code
programs. Beginning with the 2016 edition of Standard 90.1, Appendix G
also adds the capability to demonstrate minimum energy code compliance.
II. Public Participation and Error Correction
In a July 25, 2017, Federal Register notice, DOE requested public
comments on the preliminary analysis. (82 FR 34513) DOE received four
public comments, all of which DOE considered (see Appendix A to this
Order.). In addition, a DOE review of the simulation analysis
identified a mistake in how much outdoor ventilation air was being
introduced in two prototypes. Correction of this mistake resulted in
savings increasing from .6% to 4.9% in Large Office and an increase of
less than 1% in Mid-rise Apartment. Overall savings from the standard
increased from 6.7% to 6.8%. These corrections were incorporated into
the final analysis document but did not impact the determination
ruling. DOE has now issued the final analysis of the expected energy
savings associated with Standard 90.1-2016 as compared to Standard
90.1-2013. The final analysis is available at: https://www.energycodes.gov/development/determinations.
III. Order
Based on the requirements of Section 304(b) of ECPA, as amended,
and DOE's final analysis prepared after consideration of comments on
the preliminary analysis and correction of the simulation analysis
describe above, I have determined that the 2016 edition of the ANSI/
ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1: Energy Standard for Buildings, Except Low-
Rise Residential Buildings would improve overall energy efficiency in
buildings subject to the code compared to the 2013 edition of Standard
90.1.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 15, 2018.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy.
Appendix A
DOE received comments on the preliminary analysis from the
American Chemistry Council (ACC) Plastics Division, the ACC Foam
Sheathing Committee, the Responsible Energy Codes Alliance (RECA),
and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). The comments are summarized
below and are available at: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EERE-2014-BT-DET-0009.
Addenda Scope
Comment: The ACC Plastics Division commented that DOE's analysis
is too conservative because it fails to consider the impact of
addenda only affecting existing buildings. ACC's Foam Sheathing
Committee expressed the same concern. ACC recommended that DOE
analyze provisions affecting existing buildings for consistency with
statutory requirements and to provide critical guidance to states.
DOE response: DOE notes that only one addendum (addendum e) in
the prescriptive and mandatory requirements was applicable to
existing buildings only and, therefore, was excluded from the
quantitative analysis. In addition, this addendum was determined to
decrease energy use through the qualitative analysis, which was
presented in the preliminary determination. The majority of addenda
apply to new buildings and the impact of these addenda was captured
in the analysis. The goal of the determination is to evaluate
whether the latest edition of Standard 90.1 improves energy
efficiency of buildings relative to the previous edition, and DOE
believes that the current methodology is sufficient to make such a
determination.
Comment: The Responsible Energy Codes Alliance (RECA)
recommended that the magnitude of the impact of requirements for
existing buildings in the Standard taken as a whole should be
evaluated.
DOE response: The impact of individual addenda impacting
existing buildings are considered as part of DOE's qualitative
analysis. However, baseline conditions for existing building can
vary significantly depending upon a wide variety of factors,
including the age of the building, baseline systems and components,
and past renovations. While these requirements are part of the
Standard and do impact energy efficiency in commercial buildings,
they cannot be adequately represented by the quantitative analysis.
Analyzing Compliance Paths
Comment: The ACC Plastics Division stated that DOE's analysis is
too conservative because it fails to consider the impact of addenda
affecting the performance paths for compliance in Standard 90.1.
DOE response: DOE notes that evaluating the prescriptive and
mandatory requirements effectively captures the impact of all
compliance paths within Standard 90.1-2016. The performance paths
within Standard 90.1-2016 are intended to provide equivalent
performance to the prescriptive path. As the energy efficiency
stringency of the prescriptive path is increased, the performance
path rules and targets are changed to mirror that increase. Using
the prescriptive and mandatory requirements therefore effectively
represents changes to the entire standard. Additionally, the purpose
of the performance paths is to give designers and builders
flexibility by allowing an almost unlimited number of trade-off
combinations which will comply with the Standard. Analytically, it
is not practical or possible to model all of these design
combinations.
Comment: RECA also recommended that DOE make a separate
determination for each of the compliance paths in Standard 90.1:
Prescriptive path, Energy Cost Budget, and performance path.
DOE response: DOE believes that evaluating the prescriptive and
mandatory requirements effectively captures the impact of all
compliance paths within Standard 90.1-2016 and is satisfactory for
the purpose of determining whether the new edition of Standard 90.1
will save energy in commercial buildings relative to the previous
edition. The performance paths within Standard 90.1-2016 are
intended to provide equivalent performance to the prescriptive path.
As the energy efficiency stringency of the prescriptive path is
increased, the performance path rules and targets are changed to
mirror that increase. Thus evaluating the performance paths
separately, even in simplified form, would provide no additional
information. The performance paths provide designers and builders
flexibility by allowing trade-offs between prescriptive requirements
and makes the Standard easier to comply with--a benefit for states
looking to adopt the new Standard.
[[Page 8465]]
Site vs. Source Energy
Comment: EEI's first comment on this topic was that DOE should
only use site energy and energy cost results in its determination
and that source energy results should not be used.
DOE response: DOE notes that EEI submitted a similar comment on
the Notice of Preliminary Determination for Standards 90.1-2010 and
2013. DOE continues to believe that source energy estimates are of
interest to many stakeholders and are important to the discussion of
global resources and environmental issues. However, DOE realizes
that site energy is the energy that typically appears on utility
bills and that is seen by the consumer, and that energy cost (as
shown on energy bills) is a metric also important to many consumers.
It is for these reasons that DOE provides all three metrics--site
energy, source energy, and energy cost--in its determinations.
Comment: EEI also stated that the value associated with source
energy for electricity overstates losses and does not appropriately
characterize the significant improvements in the overall efficiency
of the electricity sector because: (1) DOE considered only
commercial customers; (2) the U.S. Energy Information Administration
(EIA) fossil fuel heat rate assigned to renewable energy is too
high; (3) estimates of primary energy values should look forward not
backward; and (4) estimates of primary energy values should account
for regional differences in electricity generation and renewable
portfolio standards.
DOE response: DOE notes that EEI submitted a similar comment on
the Notice of Preliminary Determination for Standards 90.1-2010 and
2013. DOE continues to believe that its use of EIA data, conversion
factors, and treatment of renewable energy is appropriate and
remains consistent with past determinations and DOE's Appliance and
Equipment Standards Program (AESP) analyses. While it is true that
the site-to-source conversion factor used in this analysis is
derived from EIA data for commercial sector energy use, analyzing
the data from all sectors results in the same conversion factor. The
determination methodology does not calculate the future impact of
the new Standard, and thus DOE believes that using conversion
factors from the year of publication of the Standard is appropriate.
DOE notes that it makes analyses available for states on the future
impact of energy codes, which are beneficial for determining the
long-term benefits of new code adoption. Finally, the use of the
conversion factor from 2016 in this analysis also mitigates the
impact of using the fossil fuel equivalency approach to determine
the conversion factor for electricity because the proportion of
renewable sources in the overall fuel mix was very small in 2016.
[FR Doc. 2018-03931 Filed 2-26-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
