REPORT TITLE:
Model Energy Code


DESCRIPTION:
Specifies that Model Energy Code standards for residential
buildings shall apply to previously unoccupied new residential
real property sold after 07/01/01.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2253
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT
RELATING TO ENERGY CONSERVATION.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the development,
 
 2 management, efficient consumption, and conservation of
 
 3 residential energy resources are of prime importance throughout
 
 4 Hawaii.  Energy is a key factor shaping Hawaii's economy,
 
 5 environment, and standard of living.  In 1997, isle residents and
 
 6 businesses spent about $2,760,000,000 on energy, or eight per
 
 7 cent of the $34,000,000,000 gross state product.  This amounts to
 
 8 $2,139 per capita, or 8.2 per cent of Hawaii's average per capita
 
 9 annual income.  Hawaii residents paid the fifth highest overall
 
10 energy prices in the nation in 1995, thirty-three per cent higher
 
11 than the national average.  Moreover, Hawaii ranked third highest
 
12 in electricity prices, thirty-four per cent above the national
 
13 average.
 
14      Some implications of Hawaii's energy situation are not as
 
15 obvious as direct energy costs.  Hawaii depends on oil for
 
16 eighty-eight per cent of its energy, more than any other state.
 
17 World oil supplies are finite and prices are subject to sudden,
 
18 extreme fluctuations which can threaten the health of Hawaii's
 
19 economy.  Oil endangers Hawaii's fragile environment more than
 
20 most other fuels.  Dollars spent for imported energy leave the
 

 
Page 2                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2253
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 islands and are not available to the local economy.
 
 2      While the State has long recognized its dependence on oil
 
 3 and the need to diversify its energy base, and much progress has
 
 4 been made, more constructive steps need to be taken.  When
 
 5 reductions in energy use are accomplished through increases in
 
 6 efficiency, the economy may continue to expand.  In order to
 
 7 provide a stable foundation for Hawaii's economy, diversification
 
 8 of energy supplies and a continued emphasis on efficiency of
 
 9 energy use are essential.
 
10      The legislature finds that one way to increase energy
 
11 efficiency is to require the standards for residential buildings
 
12 in the Model Energy Code to apply to all new residential real
 
13 property.  Hawaii's Model Energy Code is a building energy
 
14 efficiency standard for the State.  Many parts of the code have
 
15 been developed specifically for the unique conditions of the
 
16 islands.  The code includes a set of requirements for the energy-
 
17 efficient design of buildings and building systems.  These
 
18 requirements assure the application of cost-effective design
 
19 practices and technologies which minimize energy consumption
 
20 without sacrificing either the comfort or productivity of the
 
21 occupants.
 
22      The underlying intent of the code is to save energy in
 
23 buildings.  Since increases in oil prices can quickly and
 

 
Page 3                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2253
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 dramatically impact the state's economy, it is sound public
 
 2 policy to encourage the design of the most efficient buildings
 
 3 possible.  While the code stops short of requiring the most
 
 4 efficient design possible, it does require a minimum level of
 
 5 energy efficiency that is easily cost effective in all sectors of
 
 6 the economy.
 
 7      The requirements developed for the code are based on cost
 
 8 effectiveness.  The requirements are intended to provide a simple
 
 9 payback period of less than ten years, meaning that the
 
10 additional cost due to a requirement is less than ten times the
 
11 annual energy savings.  The code is expected to save about
 
12 $1,100,000 per year in consumer energy costs.  These savings are
 
13 roughly equivalent to eleven thousand six hundred megawatt-hours
 
14 of electricity or twenty-one thousand barrels of oil per year.
 
15 The cumulative energy savings are estimated to reach one hundred
 
16 seventy-four thousand barrels per year in the year 2001 and three
 
17 hundred fifty thousand barrels in 2011.
 
18      In addition, as the State continues to grow, there will be
 
19 new demands for energy resources that must be met through the
 
20 construction of new electric generating facilities or
 
21 alternatively through energy efficiency measures.  The peak
 
22 electricity demand savings are estimated to be about 2.8
 
23 megawatts per year, reaching twenty-five megawatts by 2001 and
 

 
Page 4                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2253
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 fifty megawatts in 2011.  The savings cancel out the need to
 
 2 supply an equivalent amount of new electric power.
 
 3      Despite these savings, Hawaii's model energy code has not
 
 4 been generally implemented by all of the counties with respect to
 
 5 residential buildings.  The legislature finds that the overall
 
 6 cost savings that could be achieved through the implementation of
 
 7 the code by each of the counties for residences far outweighs the
 
 8 minimal additional up front charges in building materials that
 
 9 would be required to implement these provisions.  Accordingly,
 
10 the purpose of this Act is to require the implementation of
 
11 Hawaii's Model Energy Code by the counties with respect to
 
12 previously unoccupied new residential buildings.
 
13      SECTION 2.  Section 46-19.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
14 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
15      "(a)  Energy efficiency building standards based on the
 
16 design requirements for improvements of energy utilization in
 
17 buildings developed and approved by the American Society of
 
18 Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers,
 
19 Incorporated (ASHRAE 90.1), shall be incorporated by each county
 
20 into its building code by October 24, 1994.  The standards shall
 
21 apply to all buildings, including state buildings; provided that
 
22 [the]:
 
23      (1)  The standards for renovated buildings shall only apply
 

 
Page 5                                                     
                                     S.B. NO.           2253
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           to the renovated system or elements of the building[.];
 
 2           and
 
 3      (2)  The standards for residential buildings shall apply to
 
 4           all previously unoccupied new residential buildings
 
 5           sold after July 1, 2001.  As used in this paragraph,
 
 6           "residential buildings" means multifamily dwelling
 
 7           units of three stories or fewer of habitable space
 
 8           above grade as well as all single and two family
 
 9           dwellings.  Residential building standards shall be
 
10           those sections of the Hawaii Model Energy Code, July
 
11           1993 edition, which apply to low-rise residential
 
12           buildings."
 
13      SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
14 New statutory material is underscored.
 
15      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
16 
 
17                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________