2009 North Carolina Code
Chapter 143 - State Departments, Institutions, and Commissions.
§ 143-135.37. Energy and water use standards for public major facility construction and renovation projects; verification and reporting of energy and water use.

§ 143‑135.37.  Energy and water use standards for public major facility construction and renovation projects; verification and reporting of energy and water use.

(a)        Program Established. – The Sustainable Energy‑Efficient Buildings Program is established within the Department to be administered by the Department. This program applies to any major facility construction or renovation project of a public agency that is funded in whole or in part from an appropriation in the State capital budget or through a financing contract as defined in G.S. 142‑82.

(b)        Energy‑Efficiency Standard. – For every major facility construction project of a public agency, the building shall be designed and constructed so that the calculated energy consumption is at least thirty percent (30%) less than the energy consumption for the same building as calculated using the energy‑efficiency standard in ASHRAE 90.1‑2004. For every major facility renovation project of a public agency, the renovated building shall be designed and constructed so that the calculated energy consumption is at least twenty percent (20%) less than the energy consumption for the same renovated building as calculated using the energy‑efficiency standard in ASHRAE 90.1‑2004. For the purposes of this subsection, any exception or special standard for a specific type of building found in ASHRAE 90.1‑2004 is included in the ASHRAE 90.1‑2004 standard.

(c)        Water Use Standard. – For every major facility construction or renovation project of a public agency, the water system shall be designed and constructed so that the calculated indoor potable water use is at least twenty percent (20%) less than the indoor potable water use for the same building as calculated using the fixture performance requirements related to plumbing under the 2006 North Carolina State Building Code. For every major facility construction project of a public agency, the water system shall be designed and constructed so that the calculated sum of the outdoor potable water use and the harvested stormwater use is at least fifty percent (50%) less than the sum of the outdoor potable water use and the harvested stormwater use for the same building as calculated using the performance requirements related to plumbing under the 2006 North Carolina State Building Code. For every major facility renovation project of a public agency, the Department shall determine on a project‑by‑project basis what reduced level of outdoor potable use or harvested stormwater use, if any, is a feasible requirement for the project, but the Department shall not require a greater reduction than is required under this subsection for a major facility construction project. To reduce the potable outdoor water use as required under this subsection, landscape materials that are water use efficient and irrigation strategies that include reuse and recycling of the water may be used.

(d)        Performance Verification. – In order to be able to verify performance of a building component or an energy or water system component, the construction contract shall include provisions that require each building component and each energy and water system component to be commissioned, and these provisions shall be included at the earliest phase of the construction process as possible and in no case later than the schematic design phase of the project. Such commissioning shall continue through the initial operation of the building. The project design and construction teams and the public agency shall jointly determine what level of commissioning is appropriate for the size and complexity of the building or its energy and water system components.

(e)        Separate Utility Meters. – In order to be able to monitor the initial cost and the continuing costs of the energy and water systems, a separate meter for each electricity, natural gas, fuel oil, and water utility shall be installed at each building undergoing a major facility construction or renovation project. Each meter shall be installed in accordance with the United States Department of Energy guidelines issued under section 103 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109‑58, 119 Stat. 594 (2005)). Starting with the first month of facility operation, the public agency shall compare data obtained from each of these meters by month and by year with the applicable energy‑efficiency standard under subsection (b) of this section and the applicable water use standard for the project under subsection (c) of this section and report annually no later than August 1 of each year to the Office of State Construction within the Department. If the average energy use or the average water use over the initial 12‑month period of facility operation exceeds the applicable energy‑efficiency standard under subsection (b) of this section or exceeds the applicable water use standard under subsection (c) of this section by fifteen percent (15%) or more, the public agency shall investigate the actual energy or water use, determine the cause of the discrepancy, and recommend corrections or modifications to meet the applicable standard.  (2008‑203, s. 1.)