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A quarterly publication of  |
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| Fourth Quarter 2005 | ||||
NEEP Updates: Regional Initiatives and Training and EducationClick here to read an update on energy efficiency policies across the Northeast |
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Regional Initiatives: Commercial and Residential |
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| Commercial Motors
For more information about this NEEP initiative, please email Jon Linn at jlinn@neep.org or call him at 207-338-9705. |
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NEEP and its sponsors continued to promote NEMA Premium® industrial motors in the fourth quarter of 2005. Regional MotorUp as well as New York and Maine have full service marketing campaigns directed to vendors and customers, offering information, education and dollar incentives for purchase of qualifying motors. In early November, MotorUp issued the fall edition of its newsletter, which is now available in both print and PDF formats. To read the newsletter visit the MotorUp Web site, which has a new design for easier navigation. |
| Commercial HVAC
For more information about this NEEP initiative, please email Jon Linn at jlinn@neep.org or call him at 207-338-9705. |
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Cool Choice sponsors in the Northeast continue to promote packaged HVAC equipment that meets CEE Tier 2 efficiency specifications, as well as dual enthalpy controllers for economizers. Many are also promoting improved in-field performance for packaged HVAC systems. More program news and technical information can be found on the Cool Choice Web site, which has a new look for 2005. Initiative sponsors met in November to outline research and development steps in preparation for program improvements in 2006. By early next year, sponsors will embark on a two phase study that includes secondary research on the results of pilot, in-field performance programs as well as a market characterization for new packaged HVAC units. In other news, small HVAC units will be more efficient in 2006. Department of Energy (DOE) standards for units with capacity less than 5.4 tons will be re-set to a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) of 13 in mid 2006, affecting 2007 programs. This is a result of successful promotions, especially in the Northeast. Look for program changes to draw the market even further in efficiency for these systems. |
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Commercial and Industrial Information Exchange
For more information about this NEEP initiative, please email Jon Linn at jlinn@neep.org or call him at 207-338-9705. |
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NEEP hosted its second C&I Information Exchange forum in October 2005. The session focused on Daylighting and featured Joel Loveland, a professor of Architecture at the University of Washington and director of the Seattle Daylighting Laboratory. Forum participants gave the session high marks and were interested in following up on opportunities to obtain design resources. NEEP is planning additional C&I Information Exchange forums for 2006, focusing on peak demand savings and building commissioning. |
| Other C&I News: Commercial Lighting
For more information about this NEEP initiative, please email Jon Linn at jlinn@neep.org or call him at 207-338-9705. |
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NEEP has received a Department of Energy (DOE) grant for a commercial lighting promotion which will become a regional project for 2006. In the grant application process, NEEP and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) proposed to conduct promotions in partnership with lighting manufacturers and distributors to increase the use of high performance fluorescent systems. Program administrators in all six New England states, as well as in New York and New Jersey, have expressed interest in joining the project.
Working with existing regional programs, an advisory group of sponsors will launch the commercial lighting project will be launched in January 2006. The initial phase of the two-year project will involve developing and refining project strategies, participation structure, program planning and research. |
| ENERGY STAR Products (Residential)
For more information, please email Glenn Reed at greed@neep.org or call him at 781-860-9177 ext. 19. |
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PEARL cycle seven underway: NEEP facilitated the regional product nomination effort for what is likely to be the last round of Program for the Evaluation and Analysis of Residential Lighting (PEARL) quality assurance testing. All of the Northeast sponsors of PEARL (Conn., Mass. Maine, N.Y., R.I. and VT) nominated products to be tested. By the end of December, product procurement had been substantially completed with the purchased samples shipped to the Lighting Research Center to begin testing. ENERGY STAR CFL specification revision still underway: NEEP and many of its regional sponsors participated in the development of the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) Lighting Committee's comments to the Department of Energy (DOE) on the draft ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) specification. NEEP also worked through its position on the PEARL Board to submit comments regarding DOE's plans to develop and implement a third-party quality assurance (QA) testing process as part of the specification. This QA testing would ultimately replace PEARL. Comments on the current draft were submitted to DOE in mid-October. DOE distributed a revised second draft on December 21, with comments due January 20, 2006. Of note was DOE's stated interest in participating "...in a 'round table' process (outside of the ENERGY STAR criteria revision) with industry to see whether consensus can be reached, and address a potential maximum mercury requirement in the next revision to our lighting program requirements." New ENERGY STAR fixture specification effective October 1: The new ENERGY STAR fixture specification - residential light fixtures version 4.0 (RLF v4.0) - contains a number of significant changes including a requirement for replaceable electronic ballasts, an allowance for self-ballasted pin-based lamps, a quality assurance testing process, specifications for downlight retrofit kits, and a temporary allowance for decorative LEDs. The electronic ballast requirement resulted in a large number of previously labeled fixtures losing their ENERGY STAR qualification. |
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DOE announces long-awaited clothes washer and dishwasher specification revisions: In mid-December, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced the final ENERGY STAR clothes washer specification and a draft final dishwasher specification. The 2007 clothes washer specification of a 1.72 modified energy factor (MEF) and an 8.0 water factor (WF) is less than most regional program administrators had hoped for. It also fell short of the 2007 CEE Tier 1 criteria of 1.80 MEF and 7.5 WF. The dishwasher specification of a 0.65 energy factor effective in 2007 is a draft final proposal. Comments are due to DOE in mid-January and DOE plans to complete its revision by the end of the month and have the new specification effective January 1, 2007. | |
| Residential High Efficiency HVAC
For more information, please email Glenn Reed at greed@neep.org or call him at 781-860-9177 ext. 19. |
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NEEP hosts program administrator meeting with HVAC industry representatives: In October, NEEP hosted a meeting in Windsor Locks, Conn. that brought together regional residential HVAC program administrators and regional and national representatives from the HVAC industry including Lennox, Carrier, Trane, the Building Performance Institute (BPI) and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA). The focus of the meeting was to explore opportunities for the region and for individual programs to work jointly with industry to pursue common goals. Not surprisingly, quality installation training and practices emerged as an area of common interest. As a result of this meeting, HVAC programs in Massachusetts and Rhode Island are working with Lennox to develop an interactive DVD-based quality installation training module that will focus on system charging. NEEP continues to pursue additional opportunities identified at this meeting. |
| Research and Evaluation
For more information on NEEP Research and Evaluation projects, email Elizabeth Titus at etitus@neep.org or call her at 781-860-9177, ext. 11. |
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Retailer sales training: In November, NEEP assisted the Delaware State Energy Office provide ENERGY STAR windows sales training for manufacturers and retailers. As a result, at least one manufacturer has signed up as a new ENERGY STAR Partner. Another training session is planned for Winter 2005. Promotion opportunity: The recently passed Energy Policy Act includes provisions for tax incentives for the purchase of energy efficient windows. The Alliance to Save Energy and other organizations are currently developing recommendations on what efficiency level would make a window eligible to be part of the tax credit system. Using the ENERGY STAR qualification as eligibility criteria is under consideration. Evaluation complete: A new ENERGY STAR Windows Market Assessment study, which was funded by a grant from the Department of Energy (DOE), was completed during the fourth quarter of 2005. The findings reveal that progress is being made in regional market transformation. For example, state building codes are moving toward using the ENERGY STAR windows criteria in many Northeast states. Also, the evaluation showed that awareness of ENERGY STAR windows has increased since 2001 and market penetration has increased, although improved market data is needed. The study recommended implementing both regional and national strategies, including: greater collaboration between the fragmented groups that support ENERGY STAR windows, the development of a tiered approach to window efficiency levels, leveraging training for marketing purposes, and expanding retailer training in other regions. |
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Market research on duct sealing: As part of an ongoing research project on energy efficiency opportunities for residential HVAC in the Northeast, NEEP was involved in a focus group that tested HVAC contractors' awareness of energy efficient duct sealing practices and their response to various alternative duct sealing program design concepts. An analysis and a video of the focus group are available from NEEP by request. Please contact Elizabeth Titus for more information. Sustainable residential new construction pilot: NEEP is now providing monitoring and evaluation support services to the Cape Light Compact. In the fourth quarter, Cape Light launched an impact and process evaluation of their 2003 residential new construction pilot program, in which several homes were built exceeding the ENERGY STAR Home Energy Rating System (HERS) and using "green" sustainable energy approaches. PEARL launches its seventh cycle of CFL testing: This quarter the sponsors of the Program for the Evaluation and Analysis of Residential Lighting (PEARL), have identified a set of compact florescent light (CFL) products that will be purchased at retail throughout the country and tested by the Lighting Research Center to determine if they meet performance levels reported by manufacturers. The results of this independent CFL testing are expected in 2006. Following this testing cycle, the Department of Energy (DOE) plans to assume responsibility for quality assurance testing of CFLs as part of the ENERGY STAR lighting program. |
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Training and Education |
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| Building Operator Certification (BOC)
For more information on the BOC, please contact Ed Londergan via email at elondergan@neep.org or by phone at 781-860-9177, ext. 29. |
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Planning got underway in the fourth quarter for the 2006 BOC program business model. Ed Londergan began meeting with NEEP's utility and program administrator partners to review the plan and come to agreement on the terms and conditions of the contract. Also in the fourth quarter, NEEP provided expertise on BOC program development to a meeting of facilities managers from 18 Massachusetts school districts. These districts, which have recently constructed, or are planning to build high performance schools, are part of a pilot project funded by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to establish a new BOC training series designed specifically for high performance schools. The BOC has also launched a new web-based energy savings calculator. To determine how much your facility can save by participating in BOC training, click here. |
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In a continuing effort to improve the BOC program and align it with other national facility management training curriculums, NEEP introduced a new annual re-certification requirement designed to help BOC graduates maintain their certification by keeping current with new training opportunities and energy saving technologies. Beginning in 2006, graduates will be able to receive continuing education credits by attending various seminars, and on-line courses. Please check the BOC Web site for more information as it becomes available. | |
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NEEP participated in the annual contract vendor trade show run by Connecticut's Department of Administrative Services in November. The 2005 CT $hops event brought together representatives from Connecticut's state agencies, municipalities, schools and non profit organizations with over 250 exhibitors, including the BOC. Approximately 2,500 attendees had the opportunity to learn how BOC training can help their facilities. In conjunction with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), NEEP participated in the 2005 New York State Association of Superintendents for School Building and Grounds trade show in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The BOC was a featured element at this annual conference for all N.Y. school building managers & operators. As a result of this marketing opportunity, the fall BOC courses held in New York (Albany and Rochester) had the highest enrollments of any BOC course in the last two years. BOC sales and marketing associate, Keith Guernsey, gathered various leads by promoting the BOC to several hundred federal government employees at the Customer Conference trade show sponsored by the General Services Administration. In November, NEEP participated in the annual BOC national partners meeting in Chicago. The two-day event sponsored by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council gave NEEP an opportunity to learn about BOC best practices from other energy efficiency organizations across the country. NEEP will be working more closely with these organizations moving forward to improve the BOC in the Northeast. |
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| High Performance Schools Exchange
For more information, please contact Don Fudge via email at dfudge@neep.org or by calling him at 781-860-9177, ext. 20. |
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NEEP, under a grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, NEEP is tailoring the Building Operator Certification program (BOC) to meet the needs of Massachusetts High Performance Schools personnel. The BOC has been successful at training building operators to establish procedures in their facility that reduce energy costs and make buildings healthier for the occupants. The18 pilot project schools have been designed to reduce energy usage by an average of 30 percent and provide superior indoor environmental quality. The goal of the revised course is to train facility managers and operators to maintain or even increase the energy efficiency of their building and give them ways to redcue energy use in other buildings as well. In step one, NEEP held an "information session" for school building operators and facilities mangers and four BOC trainers to gather information about the buildings and the needs of the facility managers. The trainers used this information to determine changes or additions to the curriculum before presenting one of the eight BOC courses to this target group. After the meeting, the trainers reviewed the comments gathered and will write a BOC curriculum for future use. The first two sessions of the Level I BOC course have been offered to high performance school operators in Massachusetts and NEEP has found that the BOC for High Performance Schools requires a "tune up" to be appropriate, not the "major overhaul" that was first anticipated. Material is being added regarding preventive maintenance on renewable technologies such as photovoltaic panels. |
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A preliminary draft of the High Performance Schools Regional Guidelines/Protocol has been completed by Energy & Resource Solutions and a working draft will be available shortly. The guidelines are based on MA-CHPS standards but also incorporate various LEED standards as well as Advanced Buildings Benchmark prescriptive energy efficiency measures. The Regional Guidelines/Protocol is being written for adoption by state school construction funding agencies or departments of education, but can also be used by an individual school district to guide their project plan. | |
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The new High Performance Schools Exchange Web site has attracted a large increase in visitors since it was released in September. Over September, October, and November the total hits for the Web site have averaged 2,457 per month, up from 1,625 in August. The case studies have been the most popular section, with visits here increasing each month since they were posted in June. In November, the number of visitors viewing the case studies totaled:
Based on popular demand, the case studies will be updated to include greater details in the first quarter of 2006. |
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The Rhode Island working group is partnering with the Rhode Island Regents for K-12 Education on three projects that will integrate high performance school construction into standard school construction practices. NEEP and the working group will collaborate with Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University to review and update the School Construction Approval regulations and incorporate high performance school standards; educate school leaders, architects and engineers about high performance schools including technical and project management assistance; and provide technical assistance and analysis to several Rhode Island pilot schools that commit to using the new standards. | |
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NEEP continues to work on a High Performance Schools DVD and brochure for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC). The filming for the DVD, which is now complete and in the editing phase, took place at five High Performance Schools in Massachusetts: Turners Falls High School (Montague, Mass.), Whitman Hanson Regional High Schools (Whitman, Mass.), Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School (Upton, Mass.), Williamstown Elementary (Williamstown, Mass), and Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Learning Center (Somerville, Mass.). The filming included interviews with utility representatives school superintendents, principals, teachers, facilities managers, and students. | |
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NEEP continues to support the Vermont High Performance Schools Initiative as they plan a one-day conference for March 30, 2006. The conference will feature several keynote speakers and panels of school district design teams sharing experiences with school leaders. It will also include working sessions in which participants can develop their own plan for moving forward. | |
| Building Energy Codes
For more information, please email Kevin Donahue at kdonahue@neep.org or call him at 781-860-9177, ext. 13. |
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NEEP's Building Energy Codes Project Manager, Doug Schanne, is monitoring the International Code Council (ICC) code development schedule for the 2006/2007 code development cycle. Applications for Code Development Committees are due to the ICC by January 3, 2006. Proposals for code changes are due to the ICC by March 24, 2006. NEEP will be coordinating regional discussions on potential code change submittals in the first quarter of 2006. The new 2006 ICC codes should be published and available through ICC in the first part of the 2006.
There is a concern that 2006 ICC energy code provisions would allow for less energy efficient construction in Northern climate zones than the 2003 ICC energy code requirements. Until final determination is made and reported by the Department of Energy, states and jurisdictions looking to adopted the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and the 2006 International Residential Code (IRC) should evaluate how the changes in the energy code requirements effect energy efficiency in their climate zones. For more detailed information, please contact Doug Schanne. |
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Planning for 2006 code training continues throughout the region with additional sessions planned in Maryland, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. Schedules for training in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania are currently under review. Please contact Kevin Donahue or Doug Schanne for more detailed information. | |
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The 2006 grant solicitation for the State Energy Program (SEP) special projects opportunity should be published in the near future. NEEP has begun soliciting input from individual states as well as from members of the building energy codes community in preparation for the 2006 grant application process. NEEP will be holding a teleconference in the first part of 2006 to discuss the potential for a regional, multi-state grant proposal and to assist states with their individual submittals.
NEEP thanks everyone who continues to participate in and support the grant process, including Rhode Island and Maryland, who hosted the 2005 grant submittals. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Donahue. |
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On December 15, 2005 NEEP held its first virtual Building Energy Codes Workshop. The meeting included sessions on the New York State Code Update, SEER 13, the International Code Council (ICC) Process and the New Hampshire "Express Package." Presentations are available for review on the NEEP Web site. Approximately 30 individuals attended the workshop. NEEP would like to thank all of the presenters and participants. If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Donahue. | |