SPC 211 Standard for Commercial Building Energy Audits

Meeting Minutes June 27, 2016 SPC 211 Standard for Commercial Building Energy Audits

Purpose of Meeting Vote out the PPR draft. Coordinator Jim Kelsey, Chair, VM Attendees Barry Abramson, Servidyne, VM Nate Boyd Chris Balbach, Performance Systems, VM Nick Long Michael Bobker, CUNY, VM Joe Hofstetter David Eldridge, Grumman Butkus Associates, VM Supriya Goel, PNNL, VM Fred Goldner, VM Stan Harbuck, Better Schools, VM Glenn Hourahan, ACCA, VM Bruce Hunn, consultant, VM Dennis Landsberg, L+S Energy Services Inc., VM John Lee, NYC Mayor’s Office, VM (online) Paul Mathew, LBNL, VM Ron Nelson, IMT, VM (online) Tom Paxson, ACCA-ASHRAE, VM Joe Zhou, Iowa Energy Center, VM

Regrets Ellis Guiles Jr., VM Adam Hinge, Sustainable Energy Partnerships, VM

Minutes, and announcements

o Called to order at 8:01am CT o Introductions o Work plan

goal is to vote out a PPR version today and get on an ASHRAE fast-track

. must have zero "no" votes to maintain fast-track

. voting members absent must complete an email ballot; Jim must receive the ballot by June 27 at 5pm

after a few weeks ASHRAE will post the PPR version for comment

comment period closes in August

we address the comments in the fall

may need additional ISC Public review (fall)

publish in January 2017 o June 15 minutes

Motion by Stan: approve June 15 minutes as amended; second by David

Voice vote: all voted yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion passes Odds and ends cleanup--Jim o EUI is Energy Use Intensity and ECI is Energy Cost Index

use of intensity and index is now consistent within draft o section 5.2.2 -- role of the QEA

delete detail of the activities the auditor not specifically required to do

clarify that tasks not specifically required to be performed by the QEA will be supervised

add QEA shall perform supervision for other required tasks o use of “payback” and “ROI” is inconsistent

with both used in various places, and sometime both in the same place (e.g. 6.2.6.1 and 6.2.6.2); usage should be consistent

changed so that both simple payback and simple ROI used in tandem throughout o section 6.1.4 -- notable conditions

moved to facility description section 6.1.1.2 o Annex F -- simulation tool

delete the requirement that the tool must be commercial or in the public domain?

. informative annex intended to be available for adoption by AHJs as mandatory

. without requirement could get unreliable tools

concluded the requirement for commercial or public domain be retained in the annex o Forms: Level 0 audit -- Building Characteristics

cell B41 - Account numbers; remove for reporting purposes?

. account number are meaningless if reporting consolidated data

. meters and account numbers change frequently

column label changed to ID; added note to clarify whether consolidated or unique o Forms: Level 0 audit -- Annual Summary

target/benchmark reworked to be like the Greenbook

comment added to indicate that the cost target/benchmark is optional

future task: clarify the conversion multiplier

as an alternative to spreadsheets, utilities are offering portals to provide benchmarking comparisons

do we want a target for level 1?

. yes; move reporting text for target/benchmark from level 2 to level 1 and renumber

. future task: review procedures and reporting requirements for setting targets to ensure integrity between those sections and the normative forms in Annex C o Forms: Level 1 audit -- EEM Summary

table needs examples for all columns, similar to the first column (Low-cost and No-cost Recommendations)

arrows replace color coding for EEM trend; later decided that words replace arrows

savings source removed Column labels updated to “Impact on Occupant Comfort or IEQ” o Forms: Level 2 audit -- Lighting and electrical

columns for total space wattage and total space sq ft necessary?

. used to assess the end-use breakdown

. but detail is excessive

columns for total space wattage and total space sq ft eliminated o Forms: Level 2 audit -- QA/QC

automated checking; data pulled from other worksheets

worksheet automatically flags impossible condition where savings is more that amount energy used

warns for savings greater than 50%

future task: develop test case to check difficult EEMs involving self generation and fuel switching o section 5.2.3.1. -- calculate the EUI

identify Standard 105-2014

add to the list of references o section 5.5.3 -- LCCA

edit wording to clarify the timeframe for the LCAA

"Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) shall be conducted for a timeframe that spans, at a minimum, the life of the measure with the longest service life" o section 5.3.7 -- review EEMs with owner

why limit EEMs at owners direction?

. the owner is paying for the audit and should be able to influence where time is spent

. but audit is intended to be an objective assessment

- jurisdictions want to know what is possible

- limiting to the owner's focus biases the results

changed the wording to remove this bias “Obtain from the owner or owner’s representative their comments about which measures are preferred for implementation or further study.” o section 5.4.11 -- level 2 review EEMs with owner; make similar changes as in section 5.3.7 above o section 5.3.6.1 -- opportunities to consider

too detailed for level 1

how do we treat ancillary non-energy benefits that accrue to owner?

. the list in the section is too detailed and ambiguous , e.g. impact on occupant comfort, IEQ, and effect on building

. want to capture such non-energy benefits since management would value comfort improvements if the building is a hotel or condo, for example

change list and forms to reflect “other non-energy impacts” o conduct vs. perform

these words are used somewhat interchangeably within the standard conduct implies more delegation

perform implies less delegation

do we want to sort out these nuanced differences in meaning today?

. strawpoll indicates not today

Jim and Bruce to work it out later o section 5.5.1 -- determination of EEMs for level 3; retain informative note o section 5.5.4 -- risk assessment

how to assess what is uncertain, sensitive, or critical?

. want to avoid defining these terms

. must establish a minimum level of rigor

conclusion

. algorithm changed to allow one or more variables to be changed at a time within the established parametric range

. reference a new informative annex, Annex G Risk Analysis Methods – will need volunteer to write o section 5.4.1.1 -- site survey

remove permissive language

change categories for annual energy usage summary

. Electric use cost

. Electric demand cost

. Other energy use cost (as applicable)

. Other energy demand cost (as applicable) o section 5.4.2 -- review of current O&M

should safety appear in text listing scope of review?

. could introduce an unwanted liability

. but follows the philosophy of "if you see something, say something"

safety is removed Other actions

o bEQ no longer an ASHRAE term

bEQ replaced with Building EQ throughout The Vote

o Motion by Stan: Approve the draft Standard for PPR; second by Dennis

editorial changes possible in the next few days

substantive changes now wait for the next PPR

seeking to secure ASHRAE fast track status

members may comment just like the public o Roll call vote:

In-person Vote Barry Abramson (VM) yes Chris Balbach (VM) yes Michael Bobker (VM) yes David Eldridge (VM) yes Supriya Goel (VM) here yes Fred Goldner (VM) yes Stan Harbuck (VM) yes Glenn Hourahan (VM) yes Bruce Hunn (VM) yes Jim Kelsey (VM) yes Dennis Landsberg (VM) yes Paul Mathew (VM) yes Tom Paxson (VM) yes Xiaohui Zhou (VM) yes

On the webinar John Lee (VM) yes Ron Nelson (VM) yes

(these received during minutes Not Present review after meeting) Ellis G Guiles Jr. (VM) yes (by email ballot) Adam Hinge (VM) yes (by email ballot) o summary of vote: 16 yes, 0 no, 0 abstain; motion passes unanimously among present members pending continuation ballot email o the two members absent will vote by ballot prior to 5pm (these votes have been received while minutes were being prepared) o Post meeting final vote tally; Unanimous amount all 18 voting members Next steps

o last light edits today per committee direction during meeting o PPR to ASHRAE tonight o Adjourn 11:51am CT