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Bill Targets IT Adjustments for California Home Energy Rating System

A bill circulating in the state Senate would require the state to regularly update a software system used by energy rating services to test new homes and commercial properties for compliance with California building efficiency standards.

A bill circulating in the state Senate would require the state to regularly update a software system used by energy rating services to test new homes and commercial properties for compliance with California building efficiency standards.

Introduced by Assemblyman Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, AB 1013 would direct the California Energy Commission (CEC) to make available an updated version of the system known as the "Public Domain Computer Program" at least six months prior to adopted or updated standards going into effect.

According to a Senate Appropriations Committee analysis, the bill also would require the Energy Commission to test the software updates and make those results public.

"To make such adjustments, the CEC will need to regularly obtain energy usage data from single-family and multifamily buildings that have received an assessment using the CEC tools in order to compare estimated energy usage with actual usage. Any differences would result in modifying the assessment tools," according to the committee analysis.

A state program created in 1999 called the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) establishes a process for developing California Whole-House Home Energy Ratings, which the Energy Commission says is intended "to provide California homeowners and prospective home buyers with information about the energy efficiency of the homes they live in or are considering for purchase. The ratings also provide an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of options that can improve the energy efficiency in these homes."

But according to the committee, CEC reports the continual adjustments to the energy efficiency modeling and software would be costly. The California Energy Commission says it would need almost $1 million for additional staff and outside help to do the data collection and ongoing analysis.

In introducing AB 1013, Quirk said consumers often buy an energy assessment of their homes to identify potential savings before enrolling in energy incentive programs and rebates.

"However, the software tools approved by the CEC that are used to estimate energy usage are not sufficiently accurate and consistently overestimate energy usage," Quirk claimed.

California’s energy efficiency standards for buildings typically are updated every few years. The 2016 standards will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2017.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday put AB 1013 in the suspense file.

Matt Williams was Managing Editor of Techwire from June 2014 through May 2017.