I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5069 
To establish the Federal Smart Building Program to implement smart build-
ing technology and demonstrate the costs and benefits of smart buildings, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 16, 2018 
Mr. WELCH (for himself and Mr. KINZINGER) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in 
addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and 
Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To establish the Federal Smart Building Program to imple-
ment smart building technology and demonstrate the 
costs and benefits of smart buildings, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smart Building Accel-
eration Act of 2018’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:32 Feb 23, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5069.IH
H5069
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) the building sector uses more than 40 per-
cent of the energy of the United States; 
(2) emerging building energy monitoring and 
control technologies are enabling a transition of the 
building sector to ‘‘smart’’ buildings that have dra-
matically reduced energy use and improved quality 
of service to occupants; 
(3) an analysis of select private-sector smart 
buildings by the Department of Energy would docu-
ment the costs and benefits of the emerging tech-
nologies, promote the adoption of the technologies, 
and accelerate the transition to the technologies; 
(4) with over 400,000 buildings, the Federal 
Government is the largest building owner in the 
United States; and 
(5) the Federal Government can also accelerate 
the transition to smart building technologies by dem-
onstrating and evaluating emerging smart building 
technologies using existing programs and funding to 
showcase selected Federal smart buildings. 
SEC. 3. SMART BUILDING ACCELERATION. 
(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) INTERNET OF THINGS TECHNOLOGY SOLU-
TION.—The term ‘‘internet of things technology so-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:32 Feb 23, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5069.IH
H5069
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
lution’’ means a solution that improves energy effi-
ciency and predictive maintenance through cutting- 
edge technologies that utilize internet connected 
technologies including sensors, intelligent gateways, 
and security embedded hardware. 
(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 
the Federal Smart Building Program established 
under subsection (b)(1). 
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Energy. 
(4) SMART BUILDING.—The term ‘‘smart build-
ing’’ means a building, or collection of buildings, 
with an energy system that— 
(A) is flexible and automated; 
(B) has extensive operational monitoring 
and communication connectivity, allowing re-
mote monitoring and analysis of all building 
functions; 
(C) takes a systems-based approach in in-
tegrating the overall building operations for 
control of energy generation, consumption, and 
storage; 
(D) communicates with utilities and other 
third-party commercial entities, if appropriate; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:32 Feb 23, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5069.IH
H5069
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
ing from among each of several key Federal 
agencies, as described in paragraph (4), to com-
pose an appropriately diverse set of smart 
buildings based on size, type, and geographic lo-
cation. 
(B) INCLUSION OF COMMERCIALLY OPER-
ATED BUILDINGS.—In making selections under 
subparagraph (A), the Secretary may include 
buildings that are owned by the Federal Gov-
ernment but are commercially operated. 
(3) TARGETS.—Not later than 18 months after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall establish targets for the number of smart 
buildings to be commissioned and evaluated by key 
Federal agencies by 3 years and 6 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
(4) FEDERAL
AGENCY
DESCRIBED.—The key 
Federal agencies referred to in this subsection shall 
include buildings operated by— 
(A) the Department of the Army; 
(B) the Department of the Navy; 
(C) the Department of the Air Force; 
(D) the Department; 
(E) the Department of the Interior; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:32 Feb 23, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5069.IH
H5069
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
(F) the Department of Veterans Affairs; 
and 
(G) the General Services Administration. 
(5) REQUIREMENT.—In implementing the pro-
gram, the Secretary shall leverage existing financing 
mechanisms including energy savings performance 
contracts, utility energy service contracts, and an-
nual appropriations. 
(6) EVALUATION.—Using the guidelines of the 
Federal Energy Management Program relating to 
whole-building evaluation, measurement, and verifi-
cation, the Secretary shall evaluate the costs and 
benefits of the buildings selected under paragraph 
(2), including an identification of— 
(A) which advanced building technolo-
gies— 
(i) are most cost-effective; and 
(ii) show the most promise for— 
(I) increasing building energy 
savings; 
(II) increasing service perform-
ance to building occupants; 
(III) reducing environmental im-
pacts; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:32 Feb 23, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5069.IH
H5069
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
(IV) establishing cybersecurity; 
and 
(B) any other information the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate. 
(7) AWARDS.—The Secretary may expand 
awards made under the Federal Energy Manage-
ment Program and the Better Building Challenge to 
recognize specific agency achievements in accel-
erating the adoption of smart building technologies. 
(c) SURVEY OF PRIVATE SECTOR SMART BUILD-
INGS.— 
(1) SURVEY.—The Secretary shall conduct a 
survey of privately owned smart buildings through-
out the United States, including commercial build-
ings, laboratory facilities, hospitals, multifamily resi-
dential buildings, and buildings owned by nonprofit 
organizations and institutions of higher education. 
(2) SELECTION.—From among the smart build-
ings surveyed under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
shall select not fewer than 1 building each from an 
appropriate range of building sizes, types, and geo-
graphic locations. 
(3) EVALUATION.—Using the guidelines of the 
Federal Energy Management Program relating to 
whole-building evaluation, measurement, and verifi-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:32 Feb 23, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5069.IH
H5069
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
cation, the Secretary shall evaluate the costs and 
benefits of the buildings selected under paragraph 
(2), including an identification of— 
(A) which advanced building technologies 
and systems— 
(i) are most cost-effective; and 
(ii) show the most promise for— 
(I) increasing building energy 
savings; 
(II) increasing service perform-
ance to building occupants; 
(III) reducing environmental im-
pacts; and 
(IV) establishing cybersecurity; 
and 
(B) any other information the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate. 
(d) LEVERAGING EXISTING PROGRAMS.— 
(1) BETTER BUILDING CHALLENGE.—As part 
of the Better Building Challenge of the Department, 
the Secretary, in consultation with major private 
sector property owners, shall develop smart building 
accelerators to demonstrate innovative policies and 
approaches that will accelerate the transition to 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:32 Feb 23, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5069.IH
H5069
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
smart buildings in the public, institutional, and com-
mercial buildings sectors. 
(2) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
conduct research and development to address 
key barriers to the integration of advanced 
building technologies and to accelerate the tran-
sition to smart buildings. 
(B) INCLUSION.—The research and devel-
opment conducted under subparagraph (A) 
shall include research and development on— 
(i) achieving whole-building, systems- 
level efficiency through smart system and 
component integration; 
(ii) improving physical components, 
such as sensors and controls, to be adapt-
ive, anticipatory, and networked; 
(iii) integration of internet of things 
technology solutions, including measure to 
increase water and energy efficiency, im-
prove water quality, support real-time util-
ity management, and enable actionable 
analytics and predictive maintenance to 
improve building systems long-term viabil-
ity; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:32 Feb 23, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5069.IH
H5069
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
(iv) reducing the cost of key compo-
nents to accelerate the adoption of smart 
building technologies; 
(v) data management, including the 
capture and analysis of data and the inter-
operability of the energy systems; 
(vi) protecting against cybersecurity 
threats and addressing security vulnerabili-
ties of building systems or equipment; 
(vii) business models, including how 
business models may limit the adoption of 
smart building technologies and how to 
support transactive energy; 
(viii) integration and application of 
combined heat and power systems and en-
ergy storage for resiliency; 
(ix) characterization of buildings and 
components; 
(x) consumer and utility protections; 
(xi) continuous management, includ-
ing the challenges of managing multiple 
energy systems and optimizing systems for 
disparate stakeholders; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:32 Feb 23, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5069.IH
H5069
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS
(xii) other areas of research and de-
velopment, as determined appropriate by 
the Secretary. 
(e) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter until 
a total of 3 reports have been made, the Secretary shall 
submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re-
sources of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce and the Committee on Science, Space, and 
Technology of the House of Representatives a report on— 
(1) the establishment of the Federal Smart 
Building Program and the evaluation of Federal 
smart buildings under subsection (b); 
(2) the survey and evaluation of private sector 
smart buildings under subsection (c); and 
(3) any recommendations of the Secretary to 
further accelerate the transition to smart buildings. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:32 Feb 23, 2018
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H5069.IH
H5069
rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS