Bill Text: HI HCR235 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urging The Counties To Implement The Recommendations Set Forth In The June 2016 Hawaii Energy Codes Compliance Study.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-03-28 - Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Souki excused (1). [HCR235 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-HCR235-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	235
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging the Counties to Implement the Recommendations Set Forth in the June 2016 Hawaii Energy Codes Compliance Study.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, in the United States, buildings account for nearly forty percent of national carbon dioxide emissions, more than any other sector and larger than even the industrial and transportation sectors; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State Building Code Council and the individual counties are tasked with implementing and enforcing building energy code standards to ensure that Hawaii's buildings are energy efficient and environmentally friendly; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii Energy commissioned a study to identify the parts of the building energy code that are subject to compliance issues, and whether there are corresponding savings opportunities available from improving compliance rates; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Energy Codes Compliance Study, Version Three, published in June 2016, reviewed the extent to which nonresidential and high-rise residential buildings in the County of Hawaii, County of Maui, and City and County of Honolulu comply with the building energy code; and

 

     WHEREAS, a sample of recently permitted projects were selected in each of the reviewed counties: ten in Hawaii; ten in Maui; and twenty in Honolulu; and

 

     WHEREAS, the projects were selected to provide a mix of large and small projects and new construction and renovation projects; and

 

     WHEREAS, the review of each project covered the buildings' interior lighting; exterior lighting envelope; heating ventilation, and air conditioning; and water heating systems; and

 

     WHEREAS, the study estimated the total energy impact of non-compliance with the building energy code to exceed seven percent, and in some categories, such as interior lighting, the study reported thirty-five percent non-compliance; and

 

     WHEREAS, when the total non-compliance impacts are applied to construction forecasts, the total loss of energy savings was estimated to be roughly 4.9 million kilowatt-hours per year, which equates to over $1,600,000; and

 

     WHEREAS, older buildings also lag far behind current standards, and even new, efficient buildings may miss energy savings goals without regular monitoring and care; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii should also consider incentivizing up-to-code improvements to realize efficiency gains throughout the current building stock; and

 

     WHEREAS, in summary, the Hawaii Energy Codes Compliance Study recommended that the counties:

 

     (1)  Develop simple guidelines that show the performance information that a designer must include on the plans submitted for permit approval, as this information is often missing from the plans despite being required by the building energy code;

 

     (2)  Require that designers indicate the code that they are using for their design and also indicate the compliance path that is applied;

 

     (3)  Improve awareness of county building energy code amendments;

 

     (4)  Develop simple compliance guidance and incentive programs for small retail projects, especially focusing on lighting power compliance;

 

     (5)  Develop guidance for improving window compliance for projects in general;

 

     (6)  Develop guidance for mechanical system commissioning;

 

     (7)  Develop guidance on envelope requirements for unconditioned buildings; and

 

     (8)  Prepare guidance information to support compliance with the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code; and

 

     WHEREAS, building energy codes are updated as technology advances, and recent exponential advancements in technology make it difficult for building designers to stay up-to-date with the latest requirements and trends; and

 

     WHEREAS, the recommendations set forth in the Hawaii Energy Codes Compliance Study focus heavily on keeping designers abreast of the most current energy code requirements, which in turn, will increase energy efficiency in Hawaii; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, the Senate concurring, that the counties are urged to implement the recommendations set forth in the June 2016 Hawaii Energy Codes Compliance Study; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Administrator of the Hawaii State Energy Office; Chair of the State Building Code Council; Mayor of each county; Director of the Department of Planning and Permitting, City and County of Honolulu; Director of the Department of Planning, County of Maui; Director of the Planning Department, County of Hawaii; and Director of the Department of Planning, County of Kauai.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Counties; Energy Efficiency; Building Code; Hawaii Energy Codes Compliance Study