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members and others interested in the built environment. Archives of previous
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ASHRAE Government Affairs Update, 4/20/2012
- House Funding
Subcommittee Approves $5 Million Reduction for EIA, Threatening 2012 CBECS
- High-Performance
Building Week Events Announced
- High-Performance
Building Caucus Examines the Business Case for Energy Efficiency
Improvements to Existing Buildings
- Coalitions Forming
between ASHRAE Members and Regional Energy Efficiency Groups
House Funding Subcommittee Approves $5 Million
Reduction for EIA, Threatening 2012 CBECS
This week the House Energy & Water Development
Appropriations Subcommittee approved a bill that would reduce fiscal year 2013
funding to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) by $5 million, and
reduce funding to the U.S. Department of Energy by $358 million, compared to
current levels.
The proposed funding reductions threaten to halt progress on
the 2012 edition of the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS).
Work on the next edition of the Survey has already been suspended once due to
Congressional funding cuts. The most recent edition of CBECS is nearly a decade
old – from 2003.
The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey is a
national sample survey that collects information on the stock of U.S.
commercial buildings, their energy-related building characteristics, and their
energy consumption and expenditures. CBECS data are critical to the building
community because they help form the basis for understanding patterns of energy
use, informing the decisions of the industry and key policymakers and
government programs. For instance, CBECS data are used by ASHRAE in the
development of our building energy efficiency standards, which are used by the
federal government and most states. CBECS data are also used by many federal
and private sector programs in their efforts to promote building efficiency.
The House Subcommittee-approved numbers are not yet final –
the House would still need to pass this bill, and the Senate will likely markup
their own version. This is an issue that ASHRAE will closely be monitoring. For
more information or to get involved, please contact WashDC@ashrae.org.
High-Performance Building Week Events Announced
High-Performance Building Week is organized by the
High-Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition, and seeks to educate
and share information among policymakers, the building community, and general
public on the benefits of high-performance buildings, while exploring options
for overcoming market, policy, and other barriers to improving the nation’s
building stock.
Do you have a high-performance building-related event in
Washington, DC or elsewhere that you’d like listed on the High-Performance
Building Week calendar? If so, then email WashDC@ashrae.org,
and we’ll be happy to help you.
High-Performance Building Caucus Examines the
Business Case for Energy Efficiency Improvements to Existing Buildings
How can the building industry, policymakers, the financial
community, and others increase the adoption of energy efficiency retrofits and
renovations in existing buildings? These were the issues addressed at a recent
High-Performance Building Congressional Caucus Coalition (HPBCCC) briefing on
Capitol Hill. The briefing featured presentations from (presentation titles are
listed above speakers' names):
Market Opportunity for Retrofits and Renovations and How
to Make the Business Case for Energy Efficiency
Michele A. Russo, LEED AP
Director, Green Content & Research Communications
McGraw-Hill Construction
The Business Case for Building Owners and Managers
Bruce D. Hunn, Ph.D.
Fellow ASHRAE
Consultant in Building Energy Analysis
A Business Case for Multi-Tenanted Office Buildings:
Creating a Win for Owners, Managers and Tenants
Richard W. Greninger, CPM
Vice Chair, BOMA International
Managing Partner, Operations, Carr Properties
Coalitions Forming between ASHRAE Members and
Regional Energy Efficiency Groups
Working in concert with like-minded organizations is a basic
tenet of advocacy at all levels of government – and now, U.S. ASHRAE members
nationwide have the opportunity to work in tandem with influential energy
efficiency advocates.
There are six regional energy efficiency organizations
(REEOs), which serve as guiding forces in the development of strong and sound
energy policy in their respective spheres of influence:
ASHRAE regional and chapter leaders are taking advantage of
the REEOs’ 30,000-foot view of stringent energy codes and standards by
discussing with these organizations ways in which ASHRAE can work with them to
further the cause of greater efficiency in the built environment at their
communities.
If you are interested in learning more about the REEO in
your part of the U.S., please contact the Government Affairs Office at WashDC@ashrae.org and we will get you
up-to-speed and put you in touch with the right people.
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