42 U.S.C. § 17084: Separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures

The term “high-performance energy efficiency measure” means a technology, product, or practice that will result in substantial operational cost savings by reducing energy consumption and utility costs. The term “separate spaces” means areas within a commercial building that are leased or otherwise occupied by a tenant or other occupant for a period of time pursuant to the terms of a written agreement. significantly improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings through the design and construction, by owners and tenants, of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures; and encouraging owners and tenants to implement high-performance energy efficiency measures in separate spaces. high-performance energy efficiency measures that should be considered as part of the initial design and construction of separate spaces; processes that owners, tenants, architects, and engineers may replicate when designing and constructing separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures; policies and best practices to achieve reductions in energy intensities for lighting, plug loads, heating, cooling, cooking, laundry, and other systems to satisfy the needs of the commercial building tenant; return on investment and payback analyses of the incremental cost and projected energy savings of the proposed set of high-performance energy efficiency measures, including consideration of available incentives; models and simulation methods that predict the quantity of energy used by separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures and that compare that predicted quantity to the quantity of energy used by separate spaces without high-performance energy efficiency measures but that otherwise comply with applicable building code requirements; measurement and verification platforms demonstrating actual energy use of high-performance energy efficiency measures installed in separate spaces, and whether such measures generate the savings intended in the initial design and construction of the separate spaces; best practices that encourage an integrated approach to designing and constructing separate spaces to perform at optimum energy efficiency in conjunction with the central systems of a commercial building; and any impact on employment resulting from the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures; and case studies reporting economic and energy savings returns in the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures. Not later than 90 days after April 30, 2015 , the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments regarding effective methods, measures, and practices for the design and construction of separate spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures. The Secretary shall publish the study on the website of the Department of Energy.