California Advanced Homes Program 2013 Program Addendum, PG&E Service Territory Only TRC Energy Services 11211 Gold Country Blvd. #103 Gold River, CA 95670 Phone:(916) 962 7001 Fax: (916) 962 0101 website: www. trcsolutions.com
TRC Energy Services, INC. Pacific Gas and Electric Company California Advanced Homes Program 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.1 Purpose of the Addendum... 3 1.2 Glossary of Terms and Acronyms... 3 2. THE CAHP PROCESS...6 3. PG&E SPECIFIC RULES AND CLARIFICATIONS...7 3.1 Negative Savings Electric or Heat Pump Water Heaters... 7 3.2 Lot Quantity Adjustment Policy... 7 3.3 Projects with Incomplete Lot Lists... 7 3.4 Plan Additions... 7 3.5 As-Built Adjustments... 8 3.6 Acceptance Package Approval... 8 3.7 Project Extensions... 8 3.8 Gas Only and Electric Only Projects... 8 3.9 Changing HERS Registries... 9 3.10 CF-6R Requirement... 9 3.11 Delayed Refrigerant Charge Testing... 9 3.12 Order of Plan Review... 10 3.13 Lot Exclusion Protocol... 10 3.14 California Solar Initiative (CSI) Program Participation... 10 2
ADDENDUM OVERVIEW 1.1 Purpose of the Addendum This addendum is a working document subject to changes and revisions. The information pertains to Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Company service territory only. For information specific to other service territories, contact the utility in your service territory (Southern California Edison Company, Southern California Gas Company, or San Diego Gas and Electric Company). This document does not cover all possible issues concerning the California Advanced Home Program (CAHP) in PG&E service territory. If a particular situation arises that is not covered in this document, contact the CAHP Program Manager, Matthew Christie at 916 962 7001 or MChristie@trcsolutions.com for assistance. 1.2 Glossary of Terms and Acronyms This document uses abbreviations of certain terms to simplify instructions. The following is a list of these abbreviations, plus additional terms that are commonly used throughout program administration: ACCA: Air Conditioning Contractors of America AFUE: Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency AHRI: Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute ASHRAE: American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers ASTM Standards: American Society for Testing and Materials Standards BIG: Build It Green CABEC: California Association of Building Energy Consultants CAHP: California Advanced Homes Program CalCERTS: California Certified Energy Rating & Testing Services (HERS Provider) CEA: Certified Energy Analyst CEPE: Certified Energy Plans Examiner CF 1R: Certificate of Compliance CF 1R PV: Certificate of Compliance for PV systems CF 4R: Certificate of Field Verification and Diagnostic Testing HERS CF 6R: Certificate of Installation CF 4R PV: Forms required by California New Solar Homes Partnership program CF SR: Solar Water Heating Calculation form CHEERS: ConSol Home Energy Efficiency Rating System (HERS Provider) CMFNH: California Multi Family New Homes 3
TRC Energy Services, INC. Pacific Gas and Electric Company California Advanced Homes Program 2013 Committed: Term used by PG&E to denote projects that have been officially enrolled in the program with incentive funds set aside by PG&E Commodity: Natural gas or electric service provided by the utility CPUC: California Public Utilities Commission CSI: California Solar Initiative EER: Energy Efficiency Ratio EF: Energy Factor Energy Commission: California Energy Commission GPR: Green Point Rated HERS: Home Energy Rating System HERS Rater: Special inspector certified by an Energy Commission approved HERS Provider to conduct third party verification for Title 24, Part 6 measures; Field Verification & Diagnostic Testing Rater HVAC: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning IECC: International Energy Conservation Code IRF: Incentive Request Form IOU: Investor Owned Utility (PG&E, SCE, Sempra: SCG, SDG&E) kw: kilowatt kwh: kilowatt hour LEED for Homes: (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes MF: Multi Family NFRC: National Fenestration Rating Council PG&E: Pacific Gas and Electric Company PV: Solar energy (photovoltaic) system serving electrical load PCVSS: Plan Check Verification Summary Sheet RNC: Residential New Construction SCE: Southern California Edison Company SCG: Southern California Gas Company SDG&E: San Diego Gas and Electric Company SEER: Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio SF: Single Family Therm: Unit of gas heat Title 24, Part 6: 2008 Building Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings TRC: TRC Energy Services, a division of TRC Engineers Inc. (Program Administrators) USGBC: United States Green Building Council 4
Util 1R: Low rise multi family and single family savings and incentive calculation form U.S. DOE: United States Department of Energy U.S. EPA: United States Environmental Protection Agency 5
TRC Energy Services, INC. Pacific Gas and Electric Company California Advanced Homes Program 2013 2. THE CAHP PROCESS For a step by step overview of the program process in PG&E territory, please refer to the CAHP Process Timeline available on our website. 6
3. PG&E SPECIFIC RULES AND CLARIFICATIONS 3.1 Negative Savings Electric or Heat Pump Water Heaters The term negative savings refers to a difference in calculation methodology between Title 24 compliance calculations and CAHP incentive calculations used in modeling electric water heaters. The incentives generated from the modeling software unfairly and inaccurately penalize the use of high efficiency electric water heaters. If you are installing them in your homes, please contact TRC for customized incentive calculations. 3.2 Lot Quantity Adjustment Policy Under certain circumstances, a project may increase the total number of lots. Participants wishing to build on additional lots using approved plan types should submit a project Adjustment Application, along with all necessary documentation for the change, including the new complete lot list. The new lots are only eligible if drywall has not been hung, and if no HERS test have been performed at the time of Adjustment Application submittal. A participant may replace approved, but unpaid lots with new lot addresses at any time. Total lot lists must not exceed the number of lots originally submitted. Participants wanting to replace approved, unpaid lots must submit a new complete lot list that clearly indicates which lot addresses have been changed, and identifies any lots already paid or currently in the process of being paid. The new lots are only eligible if drywall has not been hung, and if no HERS test have been performed. A participant wishing to decrease the number of lots for a project may do so at any time by submitting a new lot list. 3.3 Projects with Incomplete Lot Lists Often, not all lot addresses for a project are available at the time of application. In these cases, up to 25% of the total number of lots in a project (totaling 20 or less) can be reserved for future addresses. The applicant must notify TRC as soon as the lot numbers and addresses become known and before requesting incentives on these lots. If more than 25% (or 20) of the total lot numbers are unknown, the applicant must wait until more information is available and apply for those lots through an Adjustment Application. 3.4 Plan Additions Plans may be added to a committed project. The participant must submit an Adjustment Application and its required documentation package for the added plans, listing the new plan types and re affirming other project information. The plans will be subject to the plan review process before being committed. Homes built with the added plans that were HERS tested or that had hung drywall before the Adjustment Application was submitted will be ineligible. Plan types that are already approved with identical energy measures for other projects in CAHP may be approved without an additional plan review. 7
TRC Energy Services, INC. Pacific Gas and Electric Company California Advanced Homes Program 2013 3.5 As-Built Adjustments CAHP requires that builders and HERS Raters notify the program if any as built energy efficiency measures are changed from the CAHP approved plans. Such situations are evaluated on a case by case basis. CAHP evaluates the scope and energy impact of such changes and elects one of three possible courses of action: 1. Reject the building plan from the program for failing to meet eligibility requirements 2. Approve the building for incentives using the original incentive amounts 3. Add the revised plan to the project with recalculated incentive amounts, to be differentiated from the original plan. The CAHP program will consider the energy impact, administrative effort, Title 24 Part 6 regulatory impact, and potential incentive adjustments as part of its final ruling. CAHP encourages builders to keep as built adjustments to a minimum. 3.6 Acceptance Package Approval After TRC has completed plan review, the project team will receive an e mail with project details.. The project team has five (5) business days to review the e mail and request adjustments, including, but not limited to: adding or removing lots; adding or removing bonuses; or objecting to single commodity incentive adjustments. 3.7 Project Extensions A project s expiration date is set for 36 months after the date the project was committed. TRC includes the expiration date in the Acceptance Letter, which communicates that PG&E has reserved the project s total incentive. The participant and HERS provider must (1) complete construction, (2) complete HERS inspection, (3) upload HERS verification results, and (4) submit a complete and accurate Incentive Request Form for all lots prior to the expiration date. Any lots that do not fulfill these requirements will be rejected for payment. CAHP will accept written requests for extension if a project has encountered extenuating circumstances preventing completion of all necessary steps before the expiration date. Extension requests will be considered on a case by case basis and require approval by the PG&E Program Manager. 3.8 Gas Only and Electric Only Projects Projects that receive only gas or only electric service from PG&E may still apply and receive incentives. If the other commodity is supplied by an IOU that also implements CAHP (SCE or SCG), the project can apply to either utility. In this case, that original utility will pay all incentives relative to the home, and receive reimbursement from the other energy supplying utility. The NSHP Tier II incentive will be paid in full by the electric utility. Electric will pay $750 of the early code adoption kicker and gas will pay the remaining $250. If a municipal utility (such as SMUD or Modesto Irrigation District) supplies the non PG&E commodity, only the PG&E supplied incentive will be paid. In these cases, the baseline incentive is recalculated, and the NSHP Tier II incentives are paid in full only if the home receives electric service from PG&E. Projects using propane do not qualify for gas savings incentives. 8
3.9 Changing HERS Registries To best serve program participants and facilitate multiple HERS registry options, the CAHP statewide implementation team has decided to allow participants to switch between HERS registries under specific conditions. To facilitate this, we have asked each registry to create a transfer protocol that ensures: 1. The receiving registry staff (not the CAHP implementers) will assume the majority of the administrative tasks associated with facilitating the transfer. 2. Program staff can properly verify that homes were built to program approved specifications in the new registry. 3. The receiving registry staff and builder will determine exactly which lots will be registered in the receiving registry. It is the builder/developer s responsibility to notify the CAHP staff if and when a project will transfer to another registry. 3.10 CF-6R Requirement Projects in PG&E service territory require CF 6Rs for all CAHP related HERS measures in accordance with Title 24, Part 6. CAHP is built upon the current (2008) Title 24 Standards, and offers incentives for homes that exceed the Standards by 15% or more using the performance approach. The performance approach is based on a series of forms that collectively demonstrate and verify the energy efficiency of the home. The CF 1R form shows the proposed energy usage calculations of a home. The CF 6R form holds the builder and hired subcontractors accountable for proper program measure installation by requiring testing and/or verification and signatures on all installed lots. The CF 4R form documents third party verification of installations using a certified HERS Rater and the approved CEC HERS rating protocols. All three documents are uploaded and maintained in an online HERS registry. These documents and registries are central to upholding the credibility of Title 24 Standards and validating energy savings incentive payments. 3.11 Delayed Refrigerant Charge Testing The Energy Commission has outlined procedures in Section RA2.4.4 of the 2008 Reference Appendices to grant conditional permit approval of completed dwelling units when refrigerant charge testing cannot be performed using the standard methods due to outdoor temperatures at or below 55 degrees (see CEC Blueprint 99 March April 2011). This exception requires the HERS rater to eventually return to the dwelling to complete the full refrigerant charge test. As of October 2013, CAHP projects must have completed and registered that final test before being eligible for incentives. Contact CAHP staff at cahp@trcsolutions.com if you have any questions. 9
TRC Energy Services, INC. Pacific Gas and Electric Company California Advanced Homes Program 2013 3.12 Order of Plan Review Projects come through plan review according to the date on which their complete application package was approved. The program assistant tracks this date through our database, and the plan review manager uses this date to assign projects to plan review team members. 3.13 Lot Exclusion Protocol In some instances, lots submitted for payment are not ready for processing due to registry or verification errors. At the discretion of the IRF processor, these lots may be excluded from an IRF, thus allowing other lots from that incentive form to receive payment with less delay. 3.14 California Solar Initiative (CSI) Program Participation Projects that choose to participate in both CAHP and the California Solar Initiative s (CSI) Solar Thermal Program may only do so provided they do not claim credit for the solar thermal system in their CAHP energy model. This rule is to ensure that projects do not double dip utility funding for the same measure. In order to comply with this rule, please be aware that your solar thermal system cannot contribute towards your compliance or incentive in CAHP. When submitting the Title 24 energy model for CAHP, your energy consultant must remove the solar thermal credit from the CF 1R. 10