Report Title:

Cool Roofs; Residential Construction; Commercial Construction; Energy Conservation

 

Description:

Establishes specific performance standards and mandates the use of cool roofs on all new residential and commercial construction in Hawaii beginning in 2011.

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

284

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to energy.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the State should upgrade the performance standard on roofs for all new residential and commercial construction projects by mandating the use of only cool roof materials.  The use of cool roofs will facilitate a decrease in dependency on foreign oil by the State and assist in reaching the goal of producing seventy per cent of the State's energy from clean sources by 2011.

     A cool roof is a special roofing material that significantly reduces heat absorption due to two special qualities:  high solar reflectance, or albedo, which reflects light, and high thermal emmittance, which emits a high percentage of any heat absorbed by the roof back into the atmosphere.  The effect results in a cooler building and reduced energy costs for buildings with cooling systems by an average of seven to fifteen per cent.  While the cost of cool roofing materials are slightly higher when compared to traditional roofing materials, a building owner may recover the extra cost of the cool roof within three to five years, if not sooner, depending upon the cost of electricity and the specifics of the building.

     In addition to reducing the building's cooling costs, cool roofs will also offset carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming.  A one thousand square foot roof would offset ten metric tons of carbon dioxide by reducing the need to use electricity to cool the building.  Cool roofs also combat the heat island effect, which is a condition that occurs in urban areas like downtown Honolulu where buildings and surrounding infrastructure retain heat and increase the ambient air temperature.  The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that over the last several decades, approximately three to eight per cent of all energy used was to combat the heat island effect.  Installation of cool roofs will decrease the heat island effect and lower energy usage.

     The purpose of this Act is to promote energy conservation, reduce the State's dependence on foreign oil, and decrease the heat island effect by establishing specific performance standards mandating the use of cool roofs in all new residential and commercial construction in Hawaii.

     SECTION 2.  The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Chapter

COOL ROOFS

     §   -1  Definitions.  As used in this chapter, except as otherwise specifically provided herein:

     "Cool roof" means any variety of roofing material that has a high solar reflectance and high thermal emmittance and carries the United States Environmental Protection Agency's energy star label.

     "Low sloped roof" means the roof has less than two inches of rise over twelve inches of run.

     "New construction" means all residential construction, including single family and multi-family residential properties, and all commercial construction, including construction for businesses of any kind and all government buildings.

     "Steep slope roof" means the roof has more than two inches of rise over twelve inches of run.

     §   -2  Requirements.  On or after January 1, 2011, no permit shall be issued for the construction of any new residential or commercial structure, unless the structure has a cool roof that meets the standards of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's energy star system for low sloped roofs or steep sloped roofs, as applicable.

     §   -3  Exemptions.  A variance may be requested by application to the energy resources coordinator of the department of business, economic development, and tourism.  The application shall include a description of the property and detailed findings justifying the request for the variance.  A variance shall be deemed approved if not denied by the energy resources coordinator within thirty working days of the energy resource coordinator's receipt of the variance application.  A variance shall be granted only if the detailed findings establish that the cool roof will not significantly reduce the energy consumption of the residential or commercial building.

     §   -4  Enforcement; powers of counties.  (a)  All counties in the State shall adopt and enforce rules, ordinances, and guidelines to take all reasonable actions to implement and enforce this chapter.

     (b)  The appropriate county agency shall enforce this chapter through the building inspection process.  The building inspector shall confirm, as part of the regular inspection process, including inspection of the documentation required to be submitted by the builder, that the roof material qualifies as a cool roof in accordance with this chapter."

     SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2009.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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