[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 535 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.535
One Hundred Fourteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the sixth day of January, two thousand and fifteen
An Act
To promote energy efficiency.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

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(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Energy Efficiency
Improvement Act of 2015''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:

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256de3db674b62fd1d35c639ab7990e3a7d1e2dcf65a31a3d4e6937770c0de1b

TITLE I

-BETTER BUILDINGS

This title may be cited as the ``Better Buildings Act of 2015''.

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(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of General Services.
(2) Cost-effective energy efficiency measure.--The term ``cost-
effective energy efficiency measure'' means any building product,
material, equipment, or service, and the installing, implementing,
or operating thereof, that provides energy savings in an amount
that is not less than the cost of such installing, implementing, or
operating.
(3) Cost-effective water efficiency measure.--The term ``cost-
effective water efficiency measure'' means any building product,
material, equipment, or service, and the installing, implementing,
or operating thereof, that provides water savings in an amount that
is not less than the cost of such installing, implementing, or
operating.
(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 commercial
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 commercial leasing 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 commercial 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 commercial leasing provisions and best practices developed
under this subsection to State, county, and municipal governments
for use in managing 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.

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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:
``SEC. 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' means a technology,
product, or practice that will result in substantial operational
cost savings by reducing energy consumption and utility costs.
``(2) Separate spaces.--The term `separate spaces' means areas
within a commercial building that are leased or otherwise occupied
by a tenant or other occupant for a period of time pursuant to the
terms of a written agreement.
``(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.''.

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(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 103) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 425. TENANT STAR PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) High-performance energy efficiency measure.--The term
`high-performance energy efficiency measure' has the meaning given
the term in section 424.
``(2) Separate spaces.--The term `separate spaces' has the
meaning given the term in section 424.
``(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
103(b)) the following new item:
``Sec. 425. Tenant Star program.''.

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Part B of title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act is
amended--
(1) in section 325(e) (42 U.S.C. 6295(e)), by adding at the end
the following:
``(6) Additional standards for grid-enabled water heaters.--
``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
``(i) Activation lock.--The term `activation lock'
means a control mechanism (either a physical device
directly on the water heater or a control system integrated
into the water heater) that is locked by default and
contains a physical, software, or digital communication
that must be activated with an activation key to enable the
product to operate at its designed specifications and
capabilities and without which activation the product will
provide not greater than 50 percent of the rated first hour
delivery of hot water certified by the manufacturer.
``(ii) Grid-enabled water heater.--The term `grid-
enabled water heater' means an electric resistance water
heater that--
``(I) has a rated storage tank volume of more than
75 gallons;
``(II) is manufactured on or after April 16, 2015;
``(III) has--
``(aa) an energy factor of not less than 1.061
minus the product obtained by multiplying--
``(AA) the rated storage volume of the
tank, expressed in gallons; and
``(BB) 0.00168; or
``(bb) an equivalent alternative standard
prescribed by the Secretary and developed pursuant
to paragraph (5)(E);
``(IV) is equipped at the point of manufacture with
an activation lock; and
``(V) bears a permanent label applied by the
manufacturer that--
``(aa) is made of material not adversely
affected by water;
``(bb) is attached by means of non-water-
soluble adhesive; and
``(cc) advises purchasers and end-users of the
intended and appropriate use of the product with
the following notice printed in 16.5 point Arial
Narrow Bold font:
```IMPORTANT INFORMATION: This water heater is intended only for use as
part of an electric thermal storage or demand response program. It will
not provide adequate hot water unless enrolled in such a program and
activated by your utility company or another program operator. Confirm
the availability of a program in your local area before purchasing or
installing this product.'.
``(B) Requirement.--The manufacturer or private labeler
shall provide the activation key for a grid-enabled water
heater only to a utility or other company that operates an
electric thermal storage or demand response program that uses
such a grid-enabled water heater.
``(C) Reports.--
``(i) Manufacturers.--The Secretary shall require each
manufacturer of grid-enabled water heaters to report to the
Secretary annually the quantity of grid-enabled water
heaters that the manufacturer ships each year.
``(ii) Operators.--The Secretary shall require
utilities and other demand response and thermal storage
program operators to report annually the quantity of grid-
enabled water heaters activated for their programs using
forms of the Energy Information Agency or using such other
mechanism that the Secretary determines appropriate after
an opportunity for notice and comment.
``(iii) Confidentiality requirements.--The Secretary
shall treat shipment data reported by manufacturers as
confidential business information.
``(D) Publication of information.--
``(i) In general.--In 2017 and 2019, the Secretary
shall publish an analysis of the data collected under
subparagraph (C) to assess the extent to which shipped
products are put into use in demand response and thermal
storage programs.
``(ii) Prevention of product diversion.--If the
Secretary determines that sales of grid-enabled water
heaters exceed by 15 percent or greater the quantity of
such products activated for use in demand response and
thermal storage programs annually, the Secretary shall,
after opportunity for notice and comment, establish
procedures to prevent product diversion for non-program
purposes.
``(E) Compliance.--
``(i) In general.--Subparagraphs (A) through (D) shall
remain in effect until the Secretary determines under this
section that--
``(I) grid-enabled water heaters do not require a
separate efficiency requirement; or
``(II) sales of grid-enabled water heaters exceed
by 15 percent or greater the quantity of such products
activated for use in demand response and thermal
storage programs annually and procedures to prevent
product diversion for non-program purposes would not be
adequate to prevent such product diversion.
``(ii) Effective date.--If the Secretary exercises the
authority described in clause (i) or amends the efficiency
requirement for grid-enabled water heaters, that action
will take effect on the date described in subsection
(m)(4)(A)(ii).
``(iii) Consideration.--In carrying out this section
with respect to electric water heaters, the Secretary shall
consider the impact on thermal storage and demand response
programs, including any impact on energy savings, electric
bills, peak load reduction, electric reliability,
integration of renewable resources, and the environment.
``(iv) Requirements.--In carrying out this paragraph,
the Secretary shall require that grid-enabled water heaters
be equipped with communication capability to enable the
grid-enabled water heaters to participate in ancillary
services programs if the Secretary determines that the
technology is available, practical, and cost-effective.'';
(2) in section 332(a) (42 U.S.C. 6302(a))--
(A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(B) in the first paragraph (6), by striking the period at
the end and inserting a semicolon;
(C) by redesignating the second paragraph (6) as paragraph
(7);
(D) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (7) (as so
redesignated), by striking the period at the end and inserting
``; or''; and
(E) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) for any person--
``(A) to activate an activation lock for a grid-enabled
water heater with knowledge that such water heater is not used
as part of an electric thermal storage or demand response
program;
``(B) to distribute an activation key for a grid-enabled
water heater with knowledge that such activation key will be
used to activate a grid-enabled water heater that is not used
as part of an electric thermal storage or demand response
program;
``(C) to otherwise enable a grid-enabled water heater to
operate at its designed specification and capabilities with
knowledge that such water heater is not used as part of an
electric thermal storage or demand response program; or
``(D) to knowingly remove or render illegible the label of
a grid-enabled water heater described in section
325(e)(6)(A)(ii)(V).'';
(3) in section 333(a) (42 U.S.C. 6303(a))--
(A) by striking ``section 332(a)(5)'' and inserting
``paragraph (5), (6), (7), or (8) of section 332(a)''; and
(B) by striking ``paragraph (1), (2), or (5) of section
332(a)'' and inserting ``paragraph (1), (2), (5), (6), (7), or
(8) of section 332(a)''; and
(4) in section 334 (42 U.S.C. 6304)--
(A) by striking ``section 332(a)(5)'' and inserting
``paragraph (5), (6), (7), or (8) of section 332(a)''; and
(B) by striking ``section 332(a)(6)'' and inserting
``section 332(a)(7)''.

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TITLE II

-GRID-ENABLED WATER HEATERS

(a) Requirement of Benchmarking and Disclosure for Leasing
Buildings Without Energy Star Labels.--Section 435(b)(2) of the Energy
Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17091(b)(2)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``paragraph (2)'' and inserting ``paragraph
(1)''; and
(2) by striking ``signing the contract,'' and all that follows
through the period at the end and inserting the following:
``signing the contract, the following requirements are met:
``(A) The space is renovated for all energy efficiency and
conservation improvements that would be cost effective over the
life of the lease, including improvements in lighting, windows,
and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems.
``(B)(i) Subject to clause (ii), the space is benchmarked
under a nationally recognized, online, free benchmarking
program, with public disclosure, unless the space is a space
for which owners cannot access whole building utility
consumption data, including spaces--
``(I) that are located in States with privacy laws that
provide that utilities shall not provide such aggregated
information to multitenant building owners; and
``(II) for which tenants do not provide energy
consumption information to the commercial building owner in
response to a request from the building owner.
``(ii) A Federal agency that is a tenant of the space shall
provide to the building owner, or authorize the owner to obtain
from the utility, the energy consumption information of the
space for the benchmarking and disclosure required by this
subparagraph.''.
(b) Study.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, in collaboration
with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,
shall complete a study--
(A) on the impact of--
(i) State and local performance benchmarking and
disclosure policies, and any associated building efficiency
policies, for commercial and multifamily buildings; and
(ii) 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;
(B) that identifies best practice policy approaches studied
under subparagraph (A) that have resulted in the greatest
improvements in building energy efficiency; and
(C) that considers--
(i) compliance rates and the benefits and costs of the
policies and programs on building owners, utilities,
tenants, and other parties;
(ii) utility practices, programs, and systems that
provide aggregated energy consumption information to
multitenant building owners, and the impact of public
utility commissions and State privacy laws on those
practices, programs, and systems;
(iii) exceptions to compliance in existing laws where
building owners are not able to gather or access whole
building energy information from tenants or utilities;
(iv) the treatment of buildings with--
(I) multiple uses;
(II) uses for which baseline information is not
available; and
(III) uses that require high levels of energy
intensities, such as data centers, trading floors, and
televisions studios;
(v) implementation practices, including disclosure
methods and phase-in of compliance;
(vi) the safety and security of benchmarking tools
offered by government agencies, and the resiliency of those
tools against cyber attacks; and
(vii) international experiences with regard to building
benchmarking and disclosure laws and data aggregation for
multitenant buildings.
(2) Submission to congress.--At the conclusion of the study,
the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
of the House of Representatives and Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate a report on the results of the study.
(c) Creation and Maintenance of Database.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act and following opportunity for public notice
and comment, the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with other
relevant agencies, shall maintain, and if necessary create, a
database for the purpose of storing and making available public
energy-related information on commercial and multifamily buildings,
including--
(A) data provided under Federal, State, local, and other
laws or programs regarding building benchmarking and energy
information disclosure;
(B) information on buildings that have disclosed energy
ratings and certifications; and
(C) energy-related information on buildings provided
voluntarily by the owners of the buildings, only in an
anonymous form unless the owner provides otherwise.
(2) Complementary programs.--The database maintained pursuant
to paragraph (1) shall complement and not duplicate the functions
of the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Portfolio
Manager tool.
(d) Input From Stakeholders.--The Secretary of Energy shall seek
input from stakeholders to maximize the effectiveness of the actions
taken under this section.
(e) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall
submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives and Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the
Senate a report on the progress made in complying with this section.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.

Better Buildings Act of 2015 — S. 535

Other Sections

TITLE I

TITLE II

TITLE III

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