The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is soliciting proposals to provide evaluation services supporting NEEA’s commercial code development efforts. The goals of this evaluation study are to (a) assess the path(s) by which and degree to which code compliance is achieved with the state-amended 2018 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) in newly constructed buildings, and (b) measure the energy performance of a subset of these buildings as compared with the average energy performance of buildings constructed under previous code. The results of the study will provide direction to the development and implementation efforts of the NEEA Codes team and provide other regional code stakeholders guidance in targeting their energy efficiency work in the commercial new construction sector. The selected contractor will work with NEEA, on behalf of NEEA funders, to create a viable study design meeting four objectives:
- Catalog the major current design and engineering practices by major building type; particular attention should be paid to primary building systems, including envelope, mechanical and HVAC systems, lighting, and service water heating, as well as the primary fuel type(s) used in each building.
- Assess compliance of new commercial buildings in Idaho constructed under 2018 IECC; the primary analysis of compliance will be focused on each of the individual major building systems—envelope, mechanical systems, lighting, and service water heating—but will also include whole building compliance.
- Analyze the energy performance of a subsample of buildings through the use of billing data which has been normalized as appropriate, summarized, and disaggregated by end use.
- Assess the degree to which the methodology selected for use in this study (a) generates reliable information regarding decisions made by builders in seeking compliance with current commercial building code, and (b) is likely to be replicable over time and across states.
NEEA encourages individual and joint proposals (two or more firms partnering to carry out the full scope) from all firms with relevant experience in quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods study design. NEEA is particularly interested in proposals from firms with prior experience conducting research and/or evaluation related to commercial building energy code.
Intent to Respond is due May 19, 2023. The deadline for submitting written proposals is June 16, 2023. Intent to Respond and written proposals should be sent to Chris Cardiel (ccardiel@neea.org).
RFP posted May 11, 2023.
