Energy Efficient Buildings and Equipment
Commercial Building Codes (Wis. Stat. § 101.27; Sections 43-49; pp. 62-65)
- Current law requires Dept. of Commerce to promulgate an energy efficiency code that sets design requirements for construction and equipment for the purpose of energy conservation in public buildings and places of employment (commercial buildings).
- Under current law, Commerce must consider incorporating into the energy conservation code the design requirement from the most current national energy efficiency design standards, including the International Energy Conservation Code or another energy efficiency code that is generally accepted and used by engineers and the construction industry.
- Recommendations call for requiring Dept. of Commerce to base the energy conservation code for commercial buildings on the standards in the IECC or in another generally accepted code that provides at least as great an energy conservation benefit as the IECC provides.
- Under this bill, Commerce may promulgate stricter standards than those in the IECC or another generally accepted conservation code if:
- Commerce takes into account the cost of complying with the stricter standards in relationship to the benefits derived from complying with the stricter standards, “including the reasonably foreseeable economic and environmental benefits to this state from any reduction in the use of fossil fuel and in emissions of greenhouse gasses.”
- Commerce may also set standards less strict than the IECC (or other code) if:
- Specific conditions in this state require that the less strict standards apply; and
- The less strict standards provide the greatest energy conservation benefits that are consistent with the specific conditions.
- Voluntary Design Standards
- Requires Commerce to promulgate rules establishing voluntary design standards for the commercial buildings.
- The design standards must be based on voluntary design standards contained in one or more generally accepted energy conservation codes and provides that they must provide greater energy conservation benefits than those contained in the energy conservation code.
Agriculture Facilities (Wis. Stat. § 101.028; Section 50; p. 65)
- Requires Commerce to promulgate rules establishing energy conservation standards for “agriculture facilities”, which Commerce is allowed to define (which must include a barn and a milking parlor).
- Commerce is required to consult with the Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection before promulgating the rules.
Residential (one- and two-family dwellings) (Wis. Stat. § 101.62, .63; Sections 52-54; pp. 66-69)
- Currently, when promulgating rules that establish standards for residential dwellings it must take energy conservation into account.
- The bill requires Commerce to promulgate an energy efficiency code by rule for residential buildings (one- and two-family dwellings).
- The standards must base the code on the IECC or another generally accepted energy conservation code using the same criteria that Commerce must use in promulgating an energy efficiency code for commercial buildings.
Industrial boilers; energy efficiency (Wis. Stat. § 101.173; Section 51; pp. 65-66)
- An owner of an industrial boiler shall cause the boiler to be inspected on an annual basis.
- The owner shall take such action based upon the results of the inspection as necessary to maximize the energy efficiency of, and to minimize the emission of greenhouse gases from the industrial boiler.
- The above requirements do not apply to the following:
- Industrial boiler owned by a cooperative association.
- Industrial boiler used by a public utility to generate electricity.
- An industrial boiler that is used by the operator of a wholesale merchant plant to generate electricity unless the wholesale merchant plant is a self-generator.
- Grants rulemaking authority to Dept. of Commerce to implement and enforce the above requirements.
Design Standards for State Buildings (Wis. Stat. 16.856, Sections 3; 9401 (1); pp. 31-32)
- Directs the Dept. of Administration to ensure that the plans and specifications conform to the voluntary standards promulgated by Commerce for the following state projects:
- New state buildings;
- Renovations of existing state buildings affecting at least 35,000 square feet of enclosed space;
- Projects affecting the envelope or the heating, ventilation, or air conditioning system of an existing state building.
New Building Energy Use Goal Assessment (Wis. Stat. § 101.02 (23); Section 42; 61-62)
- No later than July 1, 2013, and at least every 4 years thereafter, the Dept. of Commerce shall prepare and provide to the DNR an annual assessment of progress toward meeting the new building energy use goal.
Appliance Efficiency Standards (Wis. Stat. 100.215, Sections 41 & 9403 (1); pp. 59-61)
- Creates a number of definitions under Wis. Stat. § 100.215 (Marketing; Trade Practices Chapter):
- “Compact audio device” – Means an integrated audio system that is encased in a single housing; that includes an amplifier, radio tuner, and attached or separable speakers; and that can produce audio from magnetic tape, compact disc, digital versatile disc, or flash memory, except that a “compact audio device does not include the following:
- A device that can be powered exclusively by internal batteries.
- A device that has a powered external satellite antenna.
- A device that can produce a video output signal.
- “Digital versatile disc” means a laser−encoded plastic medium capable of storing a large amount of digital audio, video, or computer data.
- “Digital versatile disc player” means a commercially available electronic device encased in a single housing that includes an integral power supply and whose primary purpose is the decoding of digitized audio and video signals on a digital versatile disc.
- “Digital video recorder” means a device that can record audio and video signals on a hard disk drive or other device that can store the signals digitally, except that “digital video recorder” does not include a device that has an electronic programming guide.
- “Digital versatile disc recorder” means a commercially available electronic device encased in a single housing that includes an integral power supply and for which the primary purpose is the production or recording of digitized audio and video signals on a digital versatile disc, except that “digital versatile disc recorder” does not include a device that has an electronic programming guide.
- “Electronic programming guide” means an application that provides an interactive on−screen menu of television listings and that downloads program information from the vertical blanking interval of a television signal.
- “Standby mode” means the condition in which a device is connected to a power source and does not produce video or audio output signals, but can be switched into another mode with a remote control unit or an internal signal.
- “Television” means a commercially available electronic device consisting of a monitor, with or without a tuner or receiver, encased in a single housing, which is designed to receive and display an analog or digital video signal received from a terrestrial, satellite, cable, or broadband source, except that “television” does not include any of the following:
- A multifunction device that can perform functions performed by a video cassette recorder, digital versatile disc player or recorder, digital video recorder, or electronic programming guide or that has a point−of−deployment card slot.
- A computer monitor.
- “Video cassette recorder” means a commercially available analog recording device that includes an integral power supply and that records audio and video signals onto a tape medium for subsequent viewing.
- Prohibits the sale of the following:
- compact audio device without a permanently illuminated clock that uses more than 2 watts in standby mode;
- compact audio device with a permanently illuminated clock that uses more than 4 watts in standby mode;
- a television that uses more than 3 watts in standby mode;
- a digital versatile disc player or digital versatile disc recorder that uses more than 3 watts in standby mode.
- Penalties for violating this subsection: