82 FR 34513 - Preliminary Analysis Regarding Energy Efficiency Improvements in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016: Energy Standard for Buildings, Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 141 (July 25, 2017)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is announcing the availability of a Preliminary Energy Savings Analysis of ANSI/ASHRAE/ IES Standard 90.1-2016 (Preliminary Analysis). DOE welcomes written comments from interested parties on any subject within the scope of this Preliminary Analysis.

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34513-34515]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-15579]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

[EERE-2017-BT-DET-0046]


Preliminary Analysis Regarding Energy Efficiency Improvements in 
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016: Energy Standard for Buildings, 
Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is announcing the 
availability of a Preliminary Energy Savings Analysis of ANSI/ASHRAE/
IES Standard 90.1-2016 (Preliminary Analysis). DOE welcomes written 
comments from interested parties on any subject within the scope of 
this Preliminary Analysis.

DATES: DOE will accept written comments and information on the 
Preliminary Analysis no later than September 8, 2017.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the Preliminary Analysis is available at https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/downloads/preliminary-energy-savings-analysis-ansiashraeies-standard-901-2016.
    Any comments submitted must provide docket number EERE-2017-BT-DET-
0046. Comments may be submitted using any of the following methods:
    1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 
the instructions for submitting comments.
    2. Email: [email protected]. Include the 
docket number in the subject line of the message.
    3. Postal Mail: Building Energy Codes Program, U.S. Department of 
Energy, Building Technologies Office, EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC 20585-0121. If possible, please submit all items on 
a CD, in which case it is not necessary to include printed copies.
    4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Building Energy Codes Program, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office, 950 L'Enfant Plaza 
SW., Suite 600,

[[Page 34514]]

Washington, DC 20024. Telephone: (202) 586-1927.
    If possible, please submit all items on a CD, in which case it is 
not necessary to include printed copies. For detailed instructions on 
submitting comments, see section II of this document (Public 
Participation).
    Docket: The docket, which includes Federal Register notices, 
comments, and other supporting documents/materials, is available for 
review at Regulations.gov. All documents in the docket are listed in 
the Regulations.gov index. However, some documents listed in the index, 
such as those containing information that is exempt from public 
disclosure, may not be publicly available. A link to the docket Web 
page on the Regulations.gov site can be found at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=EERE-2017-BT-DET-0046. The 
regulations.gov Web page will contain simple instructions on how to 
access all documents, including public comments, in the docket. See 
section II for further information on how to submit comments through 
Regulations.gov. For further information on how to submit a comment, 
review other public comments and the docket, or participate in the 
public meeting, contact David Cohan at 503-477-0851 or 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeremiah Williams; U.S. Department of 
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW., EE-5B, Washington, DC 20585; (202) 441-1288; 
[email protected].
    For legal issues, please contact Kavita Vaidyanathan; U.S. 
Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, 1000 Independence 
Avenue SW., GC-33, Washington, DC 20585; (202) 586-0669; 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
I. Background
II. Public Participation

I. Background

    Title III of the Energy Conservation and Production Act, as amended 
(ECPA), establishes requirements for building energy conservation 
standards, administered by the DOE Building Energy Codes Program. (42 
U.S.C. 6831 et seq.) Section 304(b), as amended, of ECPA provides that 
whenever the ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-1989 (Standard 90.1-1989 
or 1989 edition), or any successor to that code, is revised, the 
Secretary of Energy (Secretary) must make a determination, not later 
than 12 months after such revision, whether the revised code would 
improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings, and must publish 
notice of such determination in the Federal Register. (42 U.S.C. 
6833(b)(2)(A))
    Standard 90.1-2016, the most recent edition, was published in 
October 2016, triggering the statutorily-required DOE review process. 
The Standard is developed under ANSI-approved consensus procedures, and 
is under continuous maintenance by an ASHRAE Standing Standard Project 
Committee (commonly referenced as SSPC 90.1). ASHRAE has an established 
program for regular publication of addenda, or revisions, including 
procedures for timely, documented, consensus action on requested 
changes to the Standard. More information on the consensus process and 
ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2016 is available at: https://www.ashrae.org/resources--publications/bookstore/standard-90-1.
    To meet the statutory requirement, DOE conducted a preliminary 
analysis to quantify the expected energy savings associated with 
Standard 90.1-2016 relative to the previous 2013 version. A copy of the 
Preliminary Analysis is available at https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/downloads/preliminary-energy-savings-analysis-ansiashraeies-standard-901-2016. DOE welcomes written comments from interested parties on any 
subject within the scope of this Preliminary Analysis.

II. Public Participation

    DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding the 
Preliminary Analysis no later than the date provided in the DATES 
section at the beginning of this notice. Interested parties may submit 
comments, data, and other information using any of the methods 
described in the ADDRESSES section at the beginning of this notice.

Submitting Comments via the Regulations.gov Web Site

    The Regulations.gov Web page will require you to provide your name 
and contact information. Your contact information will be viewable to 
DOE Building Technologies Office staff only. Your contact information 
will not be publicly viewable, except for your first and last names, 
organization name (if any), and submitter representative name (if any). 
If your comment is not processed properly because of technical 
difficulties, DOE will use this information to contact you. If DOE 
cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot 
contact you for clarification, DOE may not be able to consider your 
comment.
    However, your contact information will be publicly viewable if you 
include it in the comment itself or in any documents attached to your 
comment. Any information that you do not want to be publicly viewable 
should not be included in your comment, nor in any document attached to 
your comment. Do not submit to Regulations.gov information for which 
disclosure is restricted by statute, such as trade secrets and 
commercial or financial information (hereinafter referred to as 
Confidential Business Information (CBI)). Comments submitted through 
Regulations.gov cannot be claimed as CBI. Comments received through the 
Web site will waive any CBI claims for the information submitted. For 
information on submitting CBI, see the Confidential Business 
Information section below.
    DOE processes submissions made through Regulations.gov before 
posting. Normally, comments will be posted within a few days of being 
submitted. However, if large volumes of comments are being processed 
simultaneously, your comment may not be viewable for up to several 
weeks. Please keep the comment tracking number that Regulations.gov 
provides after you have successfully uploaded your comment.

Submitting Comments via Email, Hand Delivery/Courier, or Mail

    Comments and documents submitted via email, hand delivery, or mail 
also will be posted to Regulations.gov. If you do not want your 
personal contact information to be publicly viewable, do not include it 
in your comment or any accompanying documents. Instead, provide your 
contact information in a cover letter, including your first and last 
names, email address, telephone number, and optional mailing address. 
The cover letter will not be publicly viewable as long as it does not 
include any comments.
    Include contact information each time you submit comments, data, 
documents, and other information to DOE. If you submit via mail or hand 
delivery/courier, please provide all items on a CD, if feasible. It is 
not necessary to submit printed copies. No facsimiles (faxes) will be 
accepted.
    Comments, data, and other information submitted to DOE 
electronically should be provided in PDF (preferred), Microsoft Word or 
Excel, WordPerfect, or text (ASCII) file format. Provide documents that 
are not secured, that are written in English, and that are free of any 
defects or viruses. Documents should not contain special characters or 
any form of encryption and, if possible, they should carry the 
electronic signature of the author.

[[Page 34515]]

Campaign Form Letters

    Please submit campaign form letters by the originating organization 
in batches of between 50 to 500 form letters per PDF or as one form 
letter with a list of supporters' names compiled into one or more PDFs. 
This reduces comment processing and posting time.

Confidential Business Information

    According to 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting information that 
he or she believes to be confidential and exempt by law from public 
disclosure should submit via email, postal mail, or hand delivery/
courier two well-marked copies: one copy of the document marked 
confidential including all the information believed to be confidential, 
and one copy of the document marked non-confidential with the 
information believed to be confidential deleted. Submit these documents 
via email or on a CD, if feasible. DOE will make its own determination 
about the confidential status of the information and treat it according 
to its determination.
    Factors of interest to DOE when evaluating requests to treat 
submitted information as confidential include: (1) A description of the 
items; (2) whether and why such items are customarily treated as 
confidential within the industry; (3) whether the information is 
generally known by or available from other sources; (4) whether the 
information has previously been made available to others without 
obligation concerning its confidentiality; (5) an explanation of the 
competitive injury to the submitting person which would result from 
public disclosure; (6) when such information might lose its 
confidential character due to the passage of time; and (7) why 
disclosure of the information would be contrary to the public interest.
    It is DOE's policy that all comments may be included in the public 
docket, without change and as received, including any personal 
information provided in the comments (except information deemed to be 
exempt from public disclosure).

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 14, 2017.
Kathleen B. Hogan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2017-15579 Filed 7-24-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P