HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

125

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

Requesting the Center for Smart Building and Community Design TO develop energy efficient design AND PERFORMANCE standards for new CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATION, And retrofittING OF buildings throughout the University of Hawaii system.

 

 

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has the highest electrical costs in the country; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii is the largest user of electricity on Oahu after the United States military; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii spends over $20,000,000 annually for electric power; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii has the responsibility and opportunity to demonstrate leadership in energy conservation to the State; and

WHEREAS, changes in design and the use of more efficient air conditioning, lighting, and appliances cut costs by twenty-five per cent per year in remodeled buildings and fifty per cent per year for new buildings; and

WHEREAS, other institutions of higher learning, such as Cornell University, Stanford University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, have realized savings of up to seventy per cent in energy costs in newly designed buildings; and

WHEREAS, appropriate application of energy efficient building standards has been documented to increase productivity, elevate satisfaction, and reduce absenteeism of employees; and

WHEREAS, buildings designed using energy efficiency standards greatly reduce operating costs over their lifetime; and

WHEREAS, the Center for Smart Building and Community Design, a program of the University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program, has been working with the United States Department of Energy, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Laboratories of the 21st Century Program, the State Energy Office, Hawaiian Electric Company, and the University of Hawaii's Office of Sustainability to encourage more efficiently designed buildings and more livable communities; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that the Center for Smart Building and Community Design of the University of Hawaii is requested to develop energy efficient design and performance standards that will:

(1) Bring about substantial quantitative and qualitative improvements to university buildings; and

(2) Include specific energy and resource conserving design and engineering methods for new construction, renovation, and retrofitting of all buildings in the University of Hawaii system; and

(3) Include criteria for life cycle cost analysis for building design and operations for new construction, renovation, and retrofitting of all buildings in the University of Hawaii system; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these standards are requested to be developed in consultation with University of Hawaii system administrators, various University of Hawaii campus chancellors and vice chancellors, the University of Hawaii Office of Capital Improvements, University of Hawaii faculty, representatives from the electric and gas companies, the American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers, and interested university and high school students; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Center for Smart Building and Community Design is requested to submit a report to the Legislature on its progress in creating energy efficient design and performance standards no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Center for Smart Building and Community Design is requested to conduct a cost-benefit analysis and an evaluation of the benefits of establishing the position of an Energy Conservation Manager to coordinate and monitor an energy management program and to promote and modify university system energy consumption through efficient utilization and awareness of energy sources; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Center for Smart Building and Community Design is requested to submit a final report to the Legislature that includes an analysis of establishing an Energy Conservation Manager position, established energy efficient design and performance standards, and strategies for implementation of those standards to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the University of Hawaii, the Chair of the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii, the Chancellor of the University of Hawaii-Manoa, and the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism.

Report Title:

Energy efficient design standards for University of Hawaii buildings.