GHG-04: Accelerate Existing Building Energy Efficiency Retrofits and Decarbonization

To reduce emissions in existing buildings and support more energy-efficient homes and businesses, the County will adopt and enforce building code standards that go beyond the minimum requirements, known as “reach codes.” These reach codes will set energy efficiency requirements for existing residential building retrofits and performance standards for existing nonresidential buildings. The aim is to reduce reliance on natural gas and other fossil fuels. The County will also provide incentives to encourage developers to meet or exceed the reach code requirements and provide training opportunities to construction workers​.

Action Description: Work with the California Energy Codes and Standards Program to develop reach codes and associated cost-effectiveness studies that must be met by existing residential buildings such that existing residential buildings’ modeled energy efficiency must achieve half of the maximum cost-effective retrofit measures score at time-of-retrofit by 2030, and the maximum cost-effective retrofit measures score by 2045. (Note: Cost-effective retrofit measures scores are a potential compliance mechanism for a reach code pathway that provides flexibility to implement measures that are assigned a numeric value, with a combination of measures meeting the target cost-effective retrofit measures score.)

Action Description: Develop an existing nonresidential buildings decarbonization strategy and implement a building performance standard that requires all buildings to reduce non-electricity-related emissions by 19 percent by 2030, and by 85 percent by 2045, with analysis of the existing building stock in the county.

Action Description: Determine reach code compliance triggers which may be based on one or more metrics for retrofits such as time of equipment replacement, percent of existing floor area, building permit valuation, and project valuation; and based on square footage for existing nonresidential buildings.

Action Description: Conduct stakeholder outreach with building industry members, contractors, residents, businesses, and other interest groups to present the reach code options and solicit feedback.

Action Description: Develop and adopt an ordinance(s) to implement existing building reach code(s) based on the cost-effectiveness studies (completed as part of Action GHG-04-a) and stakeholder outreach (completed as part of GHG-04-c). Action GHG-04-f: Submit the ordinance(s) and cost-effectiveness studies for existing building reach code(s) to the California Energy Commission for review and approval. Action GHG-04-g: Conduct training for County permitting staff to understand the reach code requirements for existing buildings and how compliance will be demonstrated. 

Action Description: Implement existing buildings reach code.  

Action Description: Submit the ordinance(s) and cost-effectiveness studies for state review and approval.  

Action Description: Implement and staff a building performance standards program that:

• proactively engages with and enrolls nonresidential building owners and operators into a buildingperformance standards program,
• develops a mechanism for building owners and operators to report energy use and emissions data,
• develops and distributes information on how to measures performance, maintain compliance, and reduceenergy use and GHG emissions,
• enforces compliance with the building performance standards program, and
• compiles and reports data on the building performance standards program for CAP monitoring, such asnumber of buildings enrolled in the program and GHG reductions achieved.

Action Description: Develop a tracking system for the types of measures implemented to maximize energy efficiency and decarbonization, energy efficiency upgrades, or pre-wiring completed by applicants pursuant to reach code requirements for existing buildings.

Action Description: Develop an outreach program that provides education strategies that enable and encourage energy conservation and gas-to-electric conversions in residential and commercial buildings for space and water heating, and planning for equipment replacement before failure occurs due to emergencies. Develop and/or share existing online educational materials targeted toward building owners and tenants that are hosted on the County’s website on energy efficiency and building electrification; including training, fact sheets, information on available incentives, video tutorials, and links to existing content (such as The Switch is On). In addition to education, video tutorials can explain to building owners how to enroll in real-time energy use monitoring tools to track energy use compared to historic levels and within the community through the EnergyStar™ Portfolio Manager, or other tools offered by third-party providers. The educational materials will also be provided as part of routine regulatory processes, such as applying for or renewing licenses or permits. Listed incentives should include, but not be limited to:

• SMUD’s Residential and Business Rebate programs
• Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction tax credit program (179D)
• US Department of Energy’s Homeowner Managing Energy Savings (HOMES) rebate program
• US Department of Energy’s High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate (HEEHRA) program

Action Description: Review the existing permitting processes for residential building owners seeking to replace natural-gas-powered equipment with electric equipment and modify as needed to reduce complexity, cost, and processing time for any required permits.

Action Description: Offset or reduce permitting fees for applicants for building retrofits that include all-electric conversion of mixed-fuel buildings and capping of natural gas lines, to encourage exceedance of existing building reach code requirements.

Action Description: Partner with Sacramento Employment and Training Agency, Construction Trades Workforce Initiative, Sacramento-Sierra Building and Construction Trades Council, Sacramento Regional Builders' Exchange, and/or Northern California Construction Training to develop a training program targeted towards developing knowledge and skills of contractors and construction workers to support electrification of existing buildings.

Action Description: Develop a revolving loan fund to provide low-interest loans to low-income residents and residents in Environmental Justice Communities to cover the time-of-replacement/emergency replacement of water heaters and/or HVAC units with electric options, ensuring that loans can be processed quickly and efficiently with equitable procedural access. Solicit donations and pursue grant funding opportunities to seed the revolving loan fund.

Action Description: Review any County-adopted existing building reach codes at the release of each triennial building code cycle for updates to align with new cost-effective electrification pre-wiring and energy efficiency measures, such that the County's existing building reach codes are in line with the most recent decarbonization guidance and cost-effectiveness data.

Action Description: Partner with Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA) and SMUD.