I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 170

To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish

energy conservation standards for public housing projects and to carry

out a program to demonstrate the effectiveness of energy conservation

measures in public housing projects.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 4, 1995

Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on Banking and Financial Services

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

to establish energy conservation standards for public

housing projects and to carry out a program to demonstrate the effectiveness of energy conservation measures in public housing projects.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Housing Energy

5 Conservation Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ENERGY CONSERVATION PERFORMANCE STAND2 ARDS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any public housing project, for

4 which development or rehabilitation is assisted under the

5 United States Housing Act of 1937 and commences after

6 the 1-year period following the date of the enactment of

7 this Act, shall be developed or rehabilitated in accordance

8 with life-cycle cost-effective energy conservation perform9 ance standards that are established by the Secretary of

10 Housing and Urban Development and are designed to en11 sure (through the use of energy conservation measures

12 and otherwise) the lowest total construction, rehabilita13 tion, and operating costs over the estimated life of the

14 project.

15 (b) CONSTRUCTION COST LIMITS.—The Secretary

16 shall revise the cost limits applicable to the development

17 or rehabilitation of public housing projects assisted under

18 the United States Housing Act of 1937 for purposes of

19 taking into consideration the life-cycle costs of the struc20 ture and major energy consuming heating and cooling sys21 tems.

22 (c) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall, not later

23 than the expiration of the 1-year period following the date

24 of the enactment of this Act, issue regulations establishing

25 the standards referred to in subsection (a) and revising

26 the cost limits referred to in subsection (b).
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1 SEC. 3. PUBLIC HOUSING ENERGY CONSERVATION DEM2 ONSTRATION.

3 (a) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this section to

4 demonstrate the extent to which the use of energy con5 servation measures in public housing projects will reduce

6 the operating costs of the projects and the utility pay7 ments made by the tenants of the projects.

8 (b) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall, to the extent

9 approved in appropriation Acts, provide financial assist10 ance to the Chicago Housing Authority in the State of

11 Illinois for the purpose of permitting the Authority—

12 (1) to implement energy conservation measures

13 in public housing projects operated by the Authority

14 and assisted under the United States Housing Act

15 of 1937; and

16 (2) to use the services of expert consultants in

17 designing and installing such energy conservation

18 measures.

19 (c) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit

20 annually to the Congress a comprehensive report setting

21 forth the activities carried out under this section. The re22 port shall include any recommendations of the Secretary

23 for legislation or other actions to encouraging the use of

24 energy conservation measures in public housing projects.
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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

3 such sums as may be necessary.

4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

5 For purposes of this Act:

6 (1) The term ‘‘energy conservation measure’’

7 means—

8 (A) caulking and weatherstripping of doors

9 and windows;

10 (B) furnace efficiency modifications, in11 cluding—

12 (i) replacement burners, furnaces, or

13 boilers (or any combination) that, as deter14 mined by the Secretary, substantially in15 crease the energy efficiency of the heating

16 system;

17 (ii) devices for modifying flue open18 ings that will increase the energy efficiency

19 of the heating system; and

20 (iii) electrical or mechanical furnace

21 ignition systems that replace standing gas

22 pilot lights;

23 (C) clock thermostats;

24 (D) ceiling, attic, wall, and floor insulation;

25 (E) water heater insulation;
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1 (F) storm windows and doors, multiglazed

2 windows and doors, heat-absorbing or heat-re3 flective glazed window and door materials;

4 (G) devices associated with load manage5 ment techniques;

6 (H) devices to utilize solar energy or wind7 power for any energy conservation purpose,

8 including heating of water, space heating, or

9 cooling;

10 (I) replacement of incandescent lighting

11 with higher efficiency lighting;

12 (J) district heating;

13 (K) cogeneration; and

14 (L) such other measures as the Secretary

15 may identify for purposes of this section.

16 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

17 of Housing and Urban Development.

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