SCE California New Homes Program - For Multifamily and Single Family Homes

Housing Energy Program - Energy and Cost Savings for Affordable Housing through Aggregation

ENERGY STAR® Online Bulk Purchasing Initiative

If you have been awarded, or are applying for Tax Credit (TCAC) funding for a new project, the SCE California New Homes Program can help you achieve the energy efficiency goal of 15% above Title 24, which is one of the three energy efficiency/resource conservation/indoor air quality items that may help may qualify your project for a 4% increase in the Threshold Basis Limits. Also, consider the incentives available for appliances and lighting controls for your new construction projects, along with being able to bulk purchase your appliances. If you are the owner of a small affordable housing project, take advantage of the opportunity to pool units with other like owners and gain the benefits of aggregation. This issue covers programs that can help you achieve energy efficiency in your projects cost effectively.

SCE California New homes Program (CANHP)

Southern California Edison's California New Homes Program facilitates energy efficient design and construction in multifamily housing by offering incentives to developers for projects exceeding 2005 Title-24 energy efficiency standards. Program benefits include education, design assistance, and cash incentives for developers, architects, energy consultants, and owners of multifamily housing projects. Low rise projects participating in the CANHP program will simultaneously qualify for an ENERGY STAR® rating and the developer will be listed on a national registry of ENERGY STAR® developers.

Program Requirements

To be eligible for enrollment in CANHP Multifamily, projects must be new multifamily (3 or more attached units) residential construction and served by Southern California Edison.

With assistance from an energy consultant and HMG, projects must exceed Title 24 energy efficiency standards by at least 15%. Low rise projects must also meet ENERGY STAR® requirements.

Following enrollment, projects must be permitted within 90 days of signing the CANHP application, inspected by a HERS rater, and completed within 30 months.

Performance-based Approach

Performance-based incentives, as shown in the table below, are available for low rise and high rise multifamily projects exceeding 2005 Title-24 energy efficiency standards by at least 15%. A larger incentive is offered for inland projects achieving at least 20% beyond T-24 standards. All low rise projects must also meet additional ENERGY STAR® requirements. An additional incentive is offered to offset the cost of energy consultant services for projects in 2007 only.

Prescriptive Component

In addition to performance-based incentives, a prescriptive option offers further opportunity in energy savings. Energy Star appliances and high efficacy lighting fixtures installed may be eligible for rebate incentives, as listed in the table below.

Measures selected to comply with Title-24 and Energy Star performance-based requirements will not be eligible for additional prescriptive incentives. Furthermore, if the incentive applicant has received or will receive incentives or services for a particular measure from another utility, state or local program, the applicant will not be eligible for incentives for that measure through the California New Homes Program.

Application and Enrollment Process

Submitting Application Package New Homes Program Application Form

To reserve funding for your project, the first step is to submit the program application. Several items accompany application including the ENERGY STAR® Partnership Agreement Form and the Multifamily Energy Consultant Form (2007 only).

Submitting Documents for Plan Check

Accuracy is vital in assuring project funding. HMG will run a plan check of your plans for construction in order to check for accuracy and identify all cost effective energy efficiency measures available. The energy calculations should show each building in the project to be at least 15% better than Title 24 with positive electricity savings.

To complete the plan check, HMG will need several documents from the developer and energy consultant. These documents include a completed set of construction drawings, manufacturer's specs on glazing and other equipment, Title 24 electronic input files, and Title 24 compliance documentation. Credits taken in the Title 24 compliance calculations should match specifications on plans.

Installation and Verification

It is the developer's responsibility to ensure the appropriate measures are installed and inspected by a HERS rater during and after construction. The HERS rater provides quality assurance by verifying that measures are installed correctly to perform optimally. If measures are properly installed, the HERS rater certifies the project. If measures are not as shown, HERS rater and utility will request an update of Title-24 documents, at the developer's expense. The project will lose program funding if updated analysis does not meet the 15% above code target.

Claiming Incentives

After all measures have been verified, the developer may submit the incentive request form, along with compliance forms. Once processed, funds will be released to the developer and energy consultant. The project will also receive Energy Star labels at project completion.

Questions and requests for application may be addressed to:
Heschong Mahone Group. Inc
Colin Jessop - Project Manager
CANHP@h-m-g.com
(760) 436-7005

CANHP Single Family

The 2006-2008 Single Family California New Homes Program (CANHP) will award a limited number of financial incentives to homebuilders who construct homes that exceed Title 24 by 15%. Single-family homebuilders of any volume are encouraged to apply. In addition to the incentives, homebuilders accepted into the Program may take advantage of marketing, training, and technical support that will help them leverage their affiliation with ENERGY STAR®, a nationally recognized, government-backed brand. The two options for receiving incentives are the Performance Method and the Prescriptive Method:

The Performance Method provides incentives for earning ENERGY STAR certification by building homes that are 15% more energy efficient than required by the 2005 Title 24 standards. Additional incentives may be available for homes that exceed the new Title 24 standards by 20%. The Performance Method also allows homebuilders to select additional energy efficient measures and earn extra incentives at their discretion.

The Prescriptive Method allows homebuilders to customize their energy efficiency features. There are a variety of incentives available through the Prescriptive Method, including tight ducts, installation of select ENERGY STAR appliances, and installation of high efficacy lighting.

Marketing and Outreach Benefits. In addition to providing homebuilder incentives, SCE will also invest over $500,000 into a consumer advertising campaign to further stimulate interest and demand for ENERGY STAR-qualified homes. The advertising campaign will provide additional marketing value to participating homebuilders who clearly identify and market themselves as a provider of ENERGY STAR-qualified homes.

Training benefits. The Program will provide homebuilders with the training necessary to promote the ENERGY STAR brand, communicate the associated benefits of buying an ENERGY STAR qualified home, and improve their homes' energy performance.

Technical Support. The Program will implement a comprehensive eligibility review and verification process during 2007. This process provides another layer of assurance to homebuilders that their homes meet ENERGY STAR specifications and that HERS Raters are following RESNET standards. In addition, homebuilders may take advantage of the technical support such as plan reviews to determine appropriate energy efficiency measures needed to build ENERGY STAR qualified homes.

For more information, contact Jeremy Scharfenberg, ICF at 818-325-3127 or jscharfenberg@icfi.com

Housing Energy Program

Affordable Housing through Aggregation
(HEP) is a new partnership that provides innovative energy services for small and medium-sized affordable housing providers within the Southern California Edison service territory.

Often, owners or managers of less than 500 units cannot access the financing needed for major energy retrofits. By aggregating units among multiple owners, HEP provides access to financial strategies, such as energy performance contracts, and allows owners to benefit from bulk purchasing or other asset pooling strategies.

Here's how it works-let's say there are five multifamily housing providers that want to bring energy and cost savings to their properties. Each provider has 250 units-once aggregated through the Housing Energy Program; these individual housing providers now have the benefits afforded to larger organizations. With 1250 units total in the aggregation, the providers are now able to attract energy services companies, bulk purchasing opportunities, and other energy programs unavailable to organizations with less than 1000 units. Ultimately, this could mean new high efficiency HVAC, lighting, refrigerators, insulation, etc. at significantly reduced or even zero upfront cost!

For participating customers, the Housing Energy Program (HEP) provides FREE technical assistance, including audits, project and engineering oversight, training, bulk purchasing and contractor assistance. Contact HEP at aggregation@seiinc.org or (888) 403-2002.

ENERGY STAR®
Online Bulk Purchasing Initiative

ENERGY STAR® has become the trusted national symbol for energy efficiency. ENERGY STAR® labeled products must meet strict energy efficiency criteria set by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Because they use less energy, these products reduce energy costs and help protect the environment by causing fewer harmful emissions from power plants.

EPA reports that by using ENERGY STAR® labeled products, households can reduce their energy use and save up to 30 percent, or $450 annually on average, on their utility bills (currently averaging around $1,500 per year).

ENERGY STAR® qualified products are widely used in market rate housing but, because of first cost considerations, ENERGY STAR® products have not been fully incorporated into affordable housing developments and property management strategies.

In recent years, the cost differential between ENERGY STAR® labeled appliances and less energy efficient appliances has significantly decreased. The simple payback period or time needed to recoup the added cost for ENERGY STAR® appliances from energy savings is now less than 5 years for most products. Because these products are more reliable and durable than other appliances, from a life cycle perspective, the purchase of ENERGY STAR® products can be very cost effective and increase in value as energy and labor costs increase.

ENERGY STAR® Bulk Purchasing. To mitigate remaining costs differences and assist affordable housing sponsors gain access to the widest possible range of ENERGY STAR® products, DOE and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have collaborated on the development of a web-based tool to simplify the process for obtaining ENERGY STAR® product price information and, if desired, initiating purchases of ENERGY STAR® products.

The ENERGY STAR® Bulk Purchasing Tool provides affordable housing sponsors with on-line access to manufacturers and suppliers of ENERGY STAR® products. The manufacturers and suppliers participating in this initiative recognize the potential market for ENERGY STAR® within the affordable housing sector and pursuant to agreements with DOE participating manufacturers and suppliers of ENERGY STAR® products have agreed to offer bulk purchase pricing. Moreover because the number of participating manufacturers and suppliers of ENERGY STAR® products is not restricted, the quotes provided will be competitive.

In short, the ENERGY STAR® Bulk Purchasing Tool offers public housing authorities, affordable housing sponsors, and other public and community-based organizations with a one-stop site to access a broad possible menu of ENERGY STAR® products and equipment at competitive bulk purchase pricing. Use of the web-based on-line program does not require special software; only access to the internet.

The ENERGY STAR Bulk Purchasing Tool is accessible at: www.bulkpurchase.net

The web site is user-friendly and easy to navigate. For a simple set of instructions on how to use the ENERGY STAR® Bulk Purchasing Tool send an e-mail request to Wayne Waite, Regional Energy Representative, at Wayne_W._Waite@hud.gov.