After a fast start, NEEA’s codes and standards team made steady progress in Q2 2023. Highlights of Q2 2023 include:
Codes
o NEEA staff launched code compliance studies in Washington (Residential) and Idaho (Residential). With funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE), the Idaho research will study two ways to measure code compliance. With this research, NEEA staff hope to better understand ways to reduce the cost of compliance studies and to get more timely data about compliance trends state to state.
o Code development in Oregon and nationally with the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) continued and is expected to complete by end of 2023. Washington delayed its July 2023 effective date until October 2023, so the State Building Code Council could study the Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling on federal preemption in Berkeley, California’s natural gas ban.
Standards
o The U.S. DOE published the final rule for the standard on motors, incorporating the recommendations included in the cross-organization letter led by NEEA staff with participation from manufacturers, utilities, and other energy efficiency advocates.
o The public negotiations for Commercial Unitary Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps successfully concluded with significant improvements in the test method.
o Two new negotiations started, one led by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) for heat pumps and the other led by a consumer products organization addressing efficiency of several consumer products.
Funding Opportunities
o The U.S. DOE is expected to award its first grants under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) code provision in Q3 2023.
o The next IIJA request for proposals (RFP) or the first Inflation Reduction Act RFP may be posted in Q3 2023.
