(a) This part establishes energy efficiency performance standard for the construction of new Federal low-rise residential buildings as required by section 305(a) of the Energy Conservation and Production Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 6834(a)).

(b) This part also establishes a maximum allowable fossil fuel-generated energy consumption standard for new Federal buildings that are low-rise residential buildings and major renovations to Federal buildings that are low-rise residential buildings, for which design for construction began on or after May 1, 2025

(c) This part also establishes green building certification requirements for new Federal buildings that are low-rise residential buildings and major renovations to Federal buildings that are low-rise residential buildings, for which design for construction began on or after October 14, 2015.

For purposes of this part, the following terms, phrases and words shall be defined as follows:

Construction cost means all costs associated with the construction of a new Federal building. It includes, but not limited to, the cost of preliminary planning, engineering, architectural, permitting, fiscal, and economic investigations and studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, and other similar actions necessary for the construction of a new Federal building. It does not include the cost of acquiring the land.

Design for construction means the stage when the energy efficiency and sustainability details (such as insulation levels, HVAC systems, water-using systems, etc.) are either explicitly determined or implicitly included in a project cost specification.

Design for renovation means the stage when the energy efficiency and sustainability details (such as insulation levels, HVAC systems, water-using systems, etc.) are either explicitly determined or implicitly included in a renovation project cost specification.

DOE means U.S. Department of Energy.

EISA-subject building or project means, for purposes of this rule, any new building or renovation project that is subject to the cost thresholds and reporting requirements in Section 433 of EISA ((42 U.S.C. 6834(a)(3)(D)(i))). The cost threshold referenced in Section 433 of EISA is $2.5 million in 2007 dollars. GSA provides a table of annual updates to this cost threshold at https://www.gsa.gov/real-estate/design-and-construction/annual-prospectus-thresholds. GSA also provides a second cost threshold for renovations of leased buildings that is 1/2 of the cost threshold for renovation of Federally owned buildings.

Federal agency means any department, agency, corporation, or other entity or instrumentality of the executive branch of the Federal Government, including the United States Postal Service, the Federal National Mortgage Association, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.

Federal building means any building to be constructed by, or for the use of, any Federal agency. Such term shall include buildings built for the purpose of being leased by a Federal agency and privatized military housing.

Fiscal Year (FY) means the 12-month period beginning on October 1 of the year prior to the specified calendar year and ending on September 30 of the specified calendar year.

Fossil fuel-generated energy consumption means the on-site stationary consumption of fossil fuels that contribute to Scope 1 emissions for generation of electricity, heat, cooling, or steam as defined by “Federal Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting Guidance” (Council on Environmental Quality, January 17, 2016). This includes, but is not limited to, emissions that result from combustion of fuels in stationary sources (e.g., boilers, furnaces, turbines, and emergency generators). This term does not include mobile sources, fugitive emissions, or process emissions as defined by “Federal Greenhouse Gas Accounting and Reporting Guidance” (Council on Environmental Quality, January 17, 2016).

ICC means International Code Council.

IECC means International Energy Conservation Code.

IECC Baseline Building 2004 means a building that is otherwise identical to the proposed building but is designed to meet, but not exceed, the energy efficiency specifications in the ICC IECC 2004 (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3).

IECC Baseline Building 2009 means a building that is otherwise identical to the proposed building but is designed to meet, but not exceed, the energy efficiency specifications in the ICC IECC 2009 (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3).

IECC Baseline Building 2015 means a building that is otherwise identical to the proposed building but is designed to meet, but not exceed, the energy efficiency specifications in the ICC IECC 2015 (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3).

IECC Baseline Building 2021 means a building that is otherwise identical to the proposed building but is designed to meet, but not exceed, the energy efficiency specifications in the ICC IECC 2021 (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3).

Life-cycle cost means the total cost related to energy conservation measures of owning, operating and maintaining a building over its useful life as determined in accordance with 10 CFR part 436.

Life-cycle cost-effective means that the proposed building has a lower life-cycle cost than the life-cycle costs of the baseline building, as described by 10 CFR 436.19, or has a positive estimated net savings, as described by 10 CFR 436.20, or has a savings-to-investment ratio estimated to be greater than one, as described by 10 CFR 436.21; or has an adjusted internal rate of return, as described by 10 CFR 436.22, that is estimated to be greater than the discount rate as listed in OMB Circular Number A-94 “Guidelines and Discount Rates for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Federal Programs.”

Low-rise residential building means any building three stories or less in height above grade that includes sleeping accommodations where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature (30 days or more).

Major renovation means either major renovation of all Scope 1 fossil fuel-using systems in a building or major renovation of one or more Scope 1 fossil fuel-using building systems or components, as defined in this section.

Major renovation cost means all costs associated with the repairing, remodeling, improving, extending, or other changes in a Federal building. It includes, but is not limited to, the cost of preliminary planning, engineering, architectural, permitting, fiscal, and economic investigations and studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications, procedures, and other similar actions necessary for the alteration of a Federal building.

Major renovation of all Scope 1 fossil fuel-using systems in a building means construction on an existing building that is so extensive that it replaces all Scope 1 fossil fuel-using systems in the building. This term includes, but is not limited to, comprehensive replacement or restoration of most or all major systems, interior work (such as ceilings, partitions, doors, floor finishes, etc.), or building elements and features.

Major renovation of a Scope 1 fossil fuel-using building system or Scope 1 fossil fuel-using component means changes to a building that provide significant opportunities for energy efficiency or reduction in fossil fuel-related energy consumption. This includes, but is not limited to, replacement of the HVAC system, hot water system, or cooking system, or other fossil fuel-using systems or components of the building that have a major impact on fossil fuel usage.

New Federal building means any new building (including a complete replacement of an existing building from the foundation up) to be constructed by, or for the use of, any federal agency. Such term shall include buildings built for the purpose of being leased by a federal agency, and privatized military housing.

Proposed building means the design for construction of a new Federal low-rise residential building, or major renovation to a Federal low-rise residential building, proposed for construction.

Shift adjustment multiplier means that agencies can apply a multiplication factor to their Maximum Allowable Fossil Fuel-Generated Energy Consumption by Building Category target based upon the weekly hours of active operation of the building. The weekly hours of operation to use as a basis for the shift adjustment multiplier lookup should be based upon the time in which in the building is actively occupied and operating per its intended use type and should include unoccupied hours or other times of limited use (such as night-time setback hours).

Technical impracticability means achieving the Scope 1 fossil fuel-based energy consumption targets would:

(1) Not be feasible from an engineering design or execution standpoint due to existing physical or site constraints that prohibit modification or addition of elements or spaces;

(2) Significantly obstruct building operations and the functional needs of a building, specifically for industrial process loads, critical national security functions, mission critical information systems as defined in NIST SP 800-60 Vol. 2 Rev. 1, and research operations, or

(3) Significantly degrade energy resiliency and energy security of building operations as defined in 10 U.S.C. 101(e)(6) and 10 U.S.C. 101(e)(7) respectively.

(a) Certain material is incorporated by reference into this subpart with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. To enforce any edition other than that specified in this section, DOE must publish a document in the Federal Register and the material must be available to the public. All approved material is available for inspection at DOE, and at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Contact DOE at: The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20024, (202) 586-9127, [email protected], https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/building-technologies-office. For information on the availability of this material at NARA, email: [email protected], or go to: www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html. The material may be obtained from the sources in the following paragraphs of this section.

(b) ICC. International Code Council, 4051 West Flossmoor Road, Country Club Hills, IL 60478, 1-888-422-7233, or go to http://www.iccsafe.org/.

(1) ICC International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), 2004 Supplement Edition (“IECC 2004”), January 2005, IBR approved for §§ 435.2, 435.4, 435.5;

(2) ICC International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), 2009 Edition (“IECC 2009”), January 2009, IBR approved for §§ 435.2, 435.4, 435.5.

(3) ICC International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), 2015 Edition (“IECC 2015”), published May 30, 2014, IBR approved for §§ 435.2, 435.4, 435.5.

(4) ICC 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), Redline Version, Copyright 2021, (“IECC 2021”), IBR approved for §§ 435.2, 435.4, and 435.5.

(a)(1) All Federal agencies shall design new Federal buildings that are low-rise residential buildings, for which design for construction began on or after January 3, 2007, but before August 10, 2012, to:

(i) Meet the IECC 2004 (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3), and

(ii) If life-cycle cost-effective, achieve energy consumption levels, calculated consistent with paragraph (b) of this section, that are at least 30 percent below the levels of the IECC Baseline Building 2004.

(2) All Federal agencies shall design new Federal buildings that are low-rise residential buildings, for which design for construction began on or after August 10, 2012, but before January 10, 2018 to:

(i) Meet the IECC 2009 (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3), and

(ii) If life-cycle cost-effective, achieve energy consumption levels, calculated consistent with paragraph (b) of this section, that are at least 30 percent below the levels of the IECC Baseline Building 2009.

(3) All Federal agencies shall design new Federal buildings that are low-rise residential buildings, for which design for construction began on or after January 10, 2018, but before April 5, 2023 to:

(i) Meet the IECC 2015, (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3), including the mandatory mechanical ventilation requirements in Section R403.6 of the IECC 2015; and

(ii) If life-cycle cost-effective, achieve energy consumption levels, calculated consistent with paragraph (b) of this section, that are at least 30 percent below the levels of the IECC Baseline Building 2015.

(4) All Federal agencies shall design new Federal buildings that are low-rise residential buildings, for which design for construction began on or after April 5, 2023 to:

(i) Meet the IECC 2021, (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3); and

(ii) If life-cycle cost-effective, achieve energy consumption levels, calculated consistent with paragraph (b) of this section, that are at least 30 percent below the levels of the IECC Baseline Building 2021.

(b)(1) For new Federal low-rise residential buildings whose design for construction began before January 10, 2018, energy consumption for the purposes of calculating the 30 percent savings shall include space heating, space cooling, and domestic water heating.

(2) For new Federal low-rise residential buildings whose design for construction began on or after before January 10, 2018, energy consumption for the purposes of calculating the 30 percent savings shall include space heating, space cooling, lighting, mechanical ventilation, and domestic water heating.

(c) If a 30 percent reduction is not life-cycle cost-effective, the design of the proposed building shall be modified so as to achieve an energy consumption level at or better than the maximum level of energy efficiency that is life-cycle cost-effective, but at a minimum complies with paragraph (a) of this section.

(a) For new Federal buildings for which design for construction began on or after January 3, 2007, but before August 10, 2012, each Federal agency shall determine energy consumption levels for both the IECC Baseline Building 2004 and proposed building by using the Simulated Performance Alternative found in section 404 of the IECC 2004 (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3).

(b) For new Federal buildings for which design for construction began on or after August 10, 2012, but before January 10, 2018, each Federal agency shall determine energy consumption levels for both the IECC Baseline Building 2009 and proposed building by using the Simulated Performance Alternative found in section 405 of the IECC 2009 (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3).

(c) For new Federal buildings for which design for construction began on or after January 10, 2018 but before April 5, 2023 each Federal agency shall determine energy consumption levels for both the IECC Baseline Building 2015 and proposed building by using the Simulated Performance Alternative found in section R405 of the IECC 2015 (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3).

(d) For new Federal buildings for which design for construction began on or after April 5, 2023 each Federal agency shall determine energy consumption levels for both the IECC Baseline Building 2021 and proposed building by using the Simulated Performance Alternative found in section R405 of the IECC 2021 (incorporated by reference, see § 435.3).

Each Federal agency shall determine life-cycle cost-effectiveness by using the procedures set out in subpart A of 10 CFR part 436. A Federal agency may choose to use any of four methods, including lower life-cycle costs, positive net savings, savings-to-investment ratio that is estimated to be greater than one, and an adjusted internal rate of return that is estimated to be greater than the discount rate as listed in OMB Circular Number A-94 “Guidelines and Discount Rates for Benefit-Cost Analysis of Federal Programs.”