Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014

To facilitate better alignment, cooperation, and best practices between commercial real estate landlords and tenants regarding energy efficiency in buildings, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Better Buildings Act of 2014 2. Energy efficiency in Federal and other buildings (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Administrator The term Administrator (2) Cost-effective energy efficiency measure The term cost-effective energy efficiency measure (3) Cost-effective water efficiency measure The term cost-effective water efficiency measure (b) Model provisions, policies, and best practices (1) In general Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy and after providing the public with an opportunity for notice and comment, shall develop model leasing provisions and best practices in accordance with this subsection. (2) Commercial leasing (A) In general The model commercial leasing provisions developed under this subsection shall, at a minimum, align the interests of building owners and tenants with regard to investments in cost-effective energy efficiency measures and cost-effective water efficiency measures to encourage building owners and tenants to collaborate to invest in such measures. (B) Use of model provisions The Administrator may use the model provisions developed under this subsection in any standard leasing document that designates a Federal agency (or other client of the Administrator) as a landlord or tenant. (C) Publication The Administrator shall periodically publish the model leasing provisions developed under this subsection, along with explanatory materials, to encourage building owners and tenants in the private sector to use such provisions and materials. (3) Realty services The Administrator shall develop policies and practices to implement cost-effective energy efficiency measures and cost-effective water efficiency measures for the realty services provided by the Administrator to Federal agencies (or other clients of the Administrator), including periodic training of appropriate Federal employees and contractors on how to identify and evaluate those measures. (4) State and local assistance The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall make available model leasing provisions and best practices developed under this subsection to State, county, and municipal governments to manage owned and leased building space in accordance with the goal of encouraging investment in all cost-effective energy efficiency measures and cost-effective water efficiency measures. 3. Separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures (a) In General Subtitle B of title IV of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17081 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 424. Separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures (a) Definitions In this section: (1) High-performance energy efficiency measure The term high-performance energy efficiency measure (2) Separate spaces The term separate spaces (b) Study (1) In general Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, shall complete a study on the feasibility of— (A) significantly improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings through the design and construction, by owners and tenants, of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures; and (B) encouraging owners and tenants to implement high-performance energy efficiency measures in separate spaces. (2) Scope The study shall, at a minimum, include— (A) descriptions of— (i) high-performance energy efficiency measures that should be considered as part of the initial design and construction of separate spaces; (ii) processes that owners, tenants, architects, and engineers may replicate when designing and constructing separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures; (iii) policies and best practices to achieve reductions in energy intensities for lighting, plug loads, heating, cooling, cooking, laundry, and other systems to satisfy the needs of the commercial building tenant; (iv) return on investment and payback analyses of the incremental cost and projected energy savings of the proposed set of high-performance energy efficiency measures, including consideration of available incentives; (v) models and simulation methods that predict the quantity of energy used by separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures and that compare that predicted quantity to the quantity of energy used by separate spaces without high-performance energy efficiency measures but that otherwise comply with applicable building code requirements; (vi) measurement and verification platforms demonstrating actual energy use of high-performance energy efficiency measures installed in separate spaces, and whether such measures generate the savings intended in the initial design and construction of the separate spaces; (vii) best practices that encourage an integrated approach to designing and constructing separate spaces to perform at optimum energy efficiency in conjunction with the central systems of a commercial building; and (viii) any impact on employment resulting from the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures; and (B) case studies reporting economic and energy savings returns in the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures. (3) Public participation Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments regarding effective methods, measures, and practices for the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures. (4) Publication The Secretary shall publish the study on the website of the Department of Energy. . (b) Clerical Amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 423 the following new item: Sec. 424. Separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures. . 4. Tenant star program (a) In General Subtitle B of title IV of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17081 et seq.) (as amended by section 3) is amended by adding at the end the following: 425. Tenant star program (a) Definitions In this section: (1) High-performance energy efficiency measure The term high-performance energy efficiency measure (2) Separate spaces The term separate spaces (b) Tenant Star The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, shall develop a voluntary program within the Energy Star program established by section 324A of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a), which may be known as Tenant Star, to promote energy efficiency in separate spaces leased by tenants or otherwise occupied within commercial buildings. (c) Expanding survey data The Secretary of Energy, acting through the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, shall— (1) collect, through each Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey of the Energy Information Administration that is conducted after the date of enactment of this section, data on— (A) categories of building occupancy that are known to consume significant quantities of energy, such as occupancy by data centers, trading floors, and restaurants; and (B) other aspects of the property, building operation, or building occupancy determined by the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to be relevant in lowering energy consumption; (2) with respect to the first Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey conducted after the date of enactment of this section, to the extent full compliance with the requirements of paragraph (1) is not feasible, conduct activities to develop the capability to collect such data and begin to collect such data; and (3) make data collected under paragraphs (1) and (2) available to the public in aggregated form and provide such data, and any associated results, to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency for use in accordance with subsection (d). (d) Recognition of owners and tenants (1) Occupancy-based recognition Not later than 1 year after the date on which sufficient data is received pursuant to subsection (c), the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall, following an opportunity for public notice and comment— (A) in a manner similar to the Energy Star rating system for commercial buildings, develop policies and procedures to recognize tenants in commercial buildings that voluntarily achieve high levels of energy efficiency in separate spaces; (B) establish building occupancy categories eligible for Tenant Star recognition based on the data collected under subsection (c) and any other appropriate data sources; and (C) consider other forms of recognition for commercial building tenants or other occupants that lower energy consumption in separate spaces. (2) Design- and construction-based recognition After the study required by section 424(b) is completed, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary and following an opportunity for public notice and comment, may develop a voluntary program to recognize commercial building owners and tenants that use high-performance energy efficiency measures in the design and construction of separate spaces. . (b) Clerical Amendment The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 424 (as added by section 3(b)) the following new item: Sec. 425. Tenant Star program. . February 28, 2014 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014 - Better Buildings Act of 2014 - Title I: Better Buildings - (Sec. 102) Requires the Administrator of General Services (GSA), in consultation with the Secretary of Energy (DOE), to develop and publish model commercial leasing provisions for use in leasing documents that designate a federal agency as a landlord or tenant that encourage building owners and tenants to invest in cost-effective energy and water efficiency measures. Requires the Administrator to: (1) develop policies and best practices to implement such measures for the realty services; and (2) make available such model leasing provisions and best practices to state, county, and municipal governments for use in managing owned and leased building space to encourage investment in such energy and water efficiency measures. (Sec. 103) Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require the Department of Energy's (DOE) Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to study the feasibility of: (1) significantly improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings through the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures, and (2) encouraging owners and tenants to implement such measures in separate spaces. Requires the Secretary to publish such study on DOE's website. (Sec. 104) Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a voluntary Tenant Star program within the Energy Star program to recognize tenants in commercial buildings that voluntarily achieve high levels of energy efficiency in separate spaces. Requires the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to collect data on categories of building occupancy that consume significant quantities of energy and on other aspects of the property, building operation, or building occupancy determined to be relevant to lowering energy consumption. Requires the EIA, with respect to the first such survey conducted after enactment of this Act, to the extent full compliance with the data collection requirements is not feasible, to conduct activities to develop the capability to collect such data and to begin such collection. Title II: Grid-Enabled Water Heaters - (Sec. 201) Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to provide additional energy conservation standards applicable to grid-enabled water heaters for use as part of an electric thermal storage or demand response program (a program that enables customers to reduce or shift their power use during peak demand periods). Requires annual reports from: (1) manufacturers of such water heaters regarding the quantity of the products shipped each year, and (2) utilities and other demand response and thermal storage program operators regarding the quantity of products activated for their programs. Requires the Secretary to publish analyses of data collected from such reports and to establish procedures to prevent product diversion if sales of the products exceed by at least 15% the quantity activated for use in the demand response and thermal storage programs annually. Maintains the standards and publication procedures established by this Act until the Secretary determines that: (1) such water heaters do not require a separate efficiency requirement, or (2) procedures to prevent product diversion for non-program purposes would not be adequate to prevent such product diversion. Requires the Secretary to consider the impact of EPCA electric water heater standards on thermal storage and demand response programs, including on energy savings, electric bills, peak load reduction, electric reliability, integration of renewable resources, and the environment. Directs the Secretary to require the water heaters be equipped with communication capability to enable the grid-enabled water heaters to participate in ancillary services programs if the technology is available, practical, and cost-effective. Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) activate an activation lock for a grid-enabled water heater with knowledge that it is not used as part of such program, (2) distribute an activation key for such a water heater with knowledge that it will be used to activate a heater that is not used as part of the program, (3) enable such water heater to operate at its designed specification and capabilities with knowledge that it is not used as part of the program, or (4) knowingly remove or render illegible the label of a such water heater. Title III: Energy Efficient Government Technology - (Sec. 302) Energy Efficient Government Technology Act - Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, with respect to federal agency energy management, to require each agency to collaborate with the Director of the Office of the Management and Budget (OMB), the Secretary, and the Administrator to develop an implementation strategy for the maintenance, purchase, and use of energy-efficient and energy-saving information technologies and practices. Requires the OMB Director to establish performance goals for evaluating the efforts of agencies in improving such technology and practices. Requires the Chief Information Officers Council to recommend best practices for the attainment of the performance goals, including consideration of the use of energy savings performance contracting and utility energy services contracting. Sets forth reporting requirements. (Sec. 303) Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, with respect to energy efficiency for data center buildings, to require the Secretary and the Administrator to carry the program for energy efficiency in data center buildings in collaboration with the information technology industry and other key stakeholders. Requires the Secretary to make available to the public an update to the Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency published on August 2, 2007, that provides: (1) a comparison and gap analysis of the estimates and projections contained in the original report with new data regarding the period from 2007 through 2014; (2) an analysis considering the impact of information technologies; (3) an evaluation of the impact of the combination of cloud platforms, mobile devices, social media, and big data on data center energy usage; and (4) updated projections and recommendations for best practices through FY2020. Requires the Secretary to: (1) maintain a data center energy practitioner program that leads to the certification of practitioners qualified to evaluate energy usage and efficiency opportunities, (2) establish an open data initiative for federal data center usage data, (3) actively participate in efforts to harmonize global specifications and metrics for data center energy efficiency, and (4) facilitate the development of an efficiency metric that measures the energy efficiency of a data center. Prohibits the Secretary and the Administrator from disclosing any proprietary information or trade secrets provided by any individual or company for the purposes of carrying out this Act. Title IV: Energy Information for Commercial Buildings - (Sec. 401) Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to revise exceptions to the requirement that federal agencies must lease space in buildings that have earned the Energy Star label. Requires a space leased by an agency in a building that has not earned the Energy Star label to be benchmarked under a nationally recognized, online, free benchmarking program, with public disclosure. Exempts from such requirement a space for which owners cannot access whole building utility consumption data. Requires an agency that is a tenant of a space that has not earned such label to provide to a building owner, or authorize the owner to obtain from the utility, the energy consumption information of the space for the benchmarking and disclosure requirements. Requires the Secretary to study and report on: (1) the impact of state and local performance benchmarking and disclosure policies, and any associated building efficiency policies, for commercial and multifamily buildings and the impact of programs and systems in which utilities provide aggregated information regarding whole building energy consumption and usage information to owners of multitenant commercial, residential, and mixed-use buildings; and (2) best practice policy approaches that have resulted in the greatest improvements in building energy efficiency. Directs the Secretary to maintain, and if necessary create, a database to store and make publicly available energy-related information on commercial and multifamily buildings. Requires the database to complement, but not duplicate, the functions of EPA's Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool.