The current edition of the California Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan devotes eight pages to the impace HVAC systems have on energy efficiency. That content will be expanded soon, thanks to a new Strategic Plan currently underway by the California Public Utilities Commission.
The Strategic Plan presents a 10- to 15-year forecast by CPUC on energy goals, milestones, and metrics. Its impact is very broad, as it influences major public policy decisions, industry and local government efforts, and IOU programs.
Rather than keeping HVAC separated in its own, single chapter, HVAC (and other energy-consuming technology areas including lighting) will be discussed within the context of four market sectors:
- existing residential buildings
- existing commercial buildings
- new residential buildings
- new commercial buildings.
HVAC information will also be included in sections on industrial, agricultural, and local government sectors.
The strategic plan is required reading for everyone who registers to join the Western HVAC Performance Alliance (WHPA). The WHPA is an HVAC advisory group comprised of HVAC industry stakeholders—such as manufacturers, distributors, and contractors— who coordinate industry sponsorship of and participation in HVAC strategies. The WHPA is helping to craft the new informational framework.
James Tuleya of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, is chairman of the WHPA Plan Revision Working Group that's interacting with the authors of the Strategic Plan update.
"The framework of SP 2.0 provides a good opportunity for our HVAC EE efforts. Before, if someone did not realize the importance of HVAC, they might simply skip over the one HVAC chapter. By including HVAC in so many sections of the update, people are more likely to realize the broad impact of HVAC," Tuleya said.