ESC Residential Consortium Minutes 100820

ESC Residential Consortium Minutes from October 8, 2020 Meeting was called to order at 2:03 pm Eastern Time Attendance: Chesapeake Utilities Jen Vandervort Eversource Thomas O'Rourke MGAG Chris Strippelhoff National Fuel Marti Sawyer Nicor Gary Cushman NW Natural John Frankel Puget Sound Energy Mari Davenport SoCal Carlos Ruiz UGI Kim Geder Appeal of ICC Energy Code: We discussed on an earlier call (May/June timeframe) that both AGA and APGA filed joint appeals addressing four code actions. AGA and APGA felt these should have been prevented to be published by the ICC staff during the Group B Code Development process. They are: · Potential violations of federal pre-emption of minimum efficiency standards for appliances and equipment (RE107 and RE126), and · Setting of code requirements that are outside the boundaries of the “Intent” sections of the IECC (RE147-19 and CE217-19, Parts I and II). RE-107-19 pertains to the ban of pilot ignition of gas-fired appliances. This would conflict with products covered under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 which prohibits the establishment of new efficiency standards that differ from federal minimum standards. In a similar vein, RE126-19 was attempting to set efficiency ratings for residential gas-fired storage water heaters that conflicted with federal minimum standards with regard to the UEF (Uniform Energy Factor). RE-147-19 would impose construction costs upon residential consumers to comply with requirements for “electrification-ready” electrical wiring and components without justifying these costs based on efficiency, conservation or savings. CE217-19 would impose construction costs in commercial buildings by requiring electric vehicle equipment, electric vehicle capable spaces and electric vehicle ready spaces. Again these costs were not justified based on energy efficiency. The federal pre-emption appeal was also joined by AHRI and the NAHB. Hearings on RE107 and RE 126 were held via Webex on August 31 and September 4. While the appeals board found that there was “no violation of any written process or procedure” they did recommend that the Code Council consider if the code change was consistent with the spirit and intent and mission of the Code Council, its codes and standards. The ICC Board of Directors heard the appeals board decision in addition to testimony from AGA,APGA, AHRI, NAHB and Leading Builders of America on September 16. The Board determined that the language from RE107-19 and RE126-19 mentioned above will NOT be included in the 2021 International Residential Code or International Energy Conservation Code. A hearing on RE147-19 and CE217-19 was held on September 3. Testimony was provided by AGA, APGA, NAHB and Leading Builders of America. The Appeals panel issued their recommendations on September 24. With regard to RE147-19, the Appeals Board recommended that the appeals be sustained as the language was not within the “general purpose and scope” of the IECC or the IRC and should be excluded from the 2021 I codes. The same recommendation was issued for CE217-19. The ICC Board of Directors heard the Appeal Panels recommendations on October 5. The Code Council Board determined that the code changes in question are “outside the current scope and intent of the energy provisions of the IECC and IRC and sustained the appeals. RE147-19 and CE217-19 will not appear in the 2021 International Codes.” So, a win-win on both counts! Heat Pump Rebate: Barb shared that in order to capitalize on the rapidly increasing interest in gas heat pumps and to advance this technology, ROBUR Corporation is demonstrating its support by offering a 2020 4th quarter promotion. Now through December 18, 2020, ROBUR is offering a $1,000 manufacturers rebate on all heat pumps models. More details can be found on their site, https://www.roburcorp.com/ Feedback on Virtual TMAF: Having just completed our first virtual TMAF, Barb asked if anyone on the call attended the event and had any feedback they would be willing to share. Both Marti Swayer, National Fuel and Jen Vandervort, Chesapeake Utilities, said they attended and enjoyed the event. Both noted the ease to move from the sessions to chat or exhibit hall. It was professionally done and turned out well. Barb did note that ESC has not decided how the TMAF for 2021 will be conducted. But, we appreciate the feedback if we need to hold a virtual meeting in the next year. Open Discussion: During open discussion, attendees were asked if their local builders were being affected by shortage of building materials (including appliances, drawer pulls, etc.) lumber and overall increased costs? One member noted that these issues have caused the price of a new home to rise by approximately $16,000. Barb noted that in Southeast PA one of the larger builders recently announced they would not be taking any additional home orders due to excessive backlogs and material shortages. Marti Sawyer, National Fuel, noted that builders in her area (Northwest PA) were being affected by lumber shortages but no shortage of appliances. John Frankel, NWN, noted that the situation in the western part of the country was also being negatively impacted by the raging fires. Another discussion topic was if any utilities were voicing their disapproval of the potential legislation to allow appliance efficiencies based on venting? It has been noted that some utilities felt that by approving of having separate efficiencies for the vented appliances that they were not doing their part to enforce a cleaner environment. Barb did note that enforcing minimum efficiencies resulting in the need for the heater to be condensing to reach that limit leads to water heater issues and a potential loss of water heating load to electric. We will monitor the situation for additional discussion. Carlos Ruiz, SoCalGas, asked if any member had been promoting gas cooling? NWN noted that they are doing more promoting of this on the commercial side; but Carlos was interested in residential promotions. He noted that the residential natural gas cooling technology is lagging behind. In his area, they are affected by brown outs and the electric utilities have been found to be a cause of some of the fires in California so he feels strongly to find an alternative to electric residential cooling. Barb will do some research and try to get some presentations on the topic to make members aware of what is available. With no further discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 2:36 pm.