Group 1: Creating a Streamlined BEM Process
The spring’s Complexity of Compliance webinar series brought two problem statements into focus for Working Group 1:
- Getting involved in the development and review process could be easier, and what is done with stakeholder input, and the implications of those changes, could be more transparent.
- On certain projects, practitioners can feel shoehorned into a compliance path instead of choosing it based on the balance of complexity and flexibility they want.
The Co-Chairs of this group are lining up speakers and discussions for breakout sessions at CalBEM 2022 in November to identify next steps on these issues. You can view presentations from earlier WG1 Complexity of Compliance webinars here, which get everyone up to speed on the code development and adoption processes and describe current code compliance infrastructure, considerations, and popular streamlining options.
Additionally, there are two new topics in the early stages of development. First, the Co-Chairs are meeting with the relevant CEC staff to learn more about the context and boundaries that would be relevant to any proposed centralized Title 24 review resources. Second, a submitted proposal has entered the review process, aiming to produce case studies comparing the workflows and rulesets of Title 24 ACM and ASHRAE 90.1 PRM as they would apply to real design projects.
The Prototype Unification Technical Advisory Group led by Bryan Boyce (Energy Solutions) continues to meet, advancing its goal to develop a single set of prototypes for use by all California state agencies and other public research/policy purposes. Building definitions for this set of new, unified prototypes have been drafted and are currently being refined by the TAG group.
Group 2: Developing BEM Education and Resources
A huge thank-you to those who submitted feedback on the prioritized projects from this group! As a result, this group is moving forward with the following projects:
- A project proposal has been submitted based on the findings of the Recommendations for BEM Education in California report, designing a “community of practice” among educators across the state to enable educators to better include BEM in their curriculum. This proposal has entered the review process.
- A draft whitepaper expanding BEM roles is under development by Erik Kolderup.
- An idea to provide a platform to share quality assurance & quality control (QA/QC) processes is in the early stages of development. Please reach out to info@calbem.org if you are interested in getting involved.
Bonus: Materials from the Recommendations for BEM Education in California report have made their way to serve as a resource on these new BEMcyclopedia pages (in beta)! Many thanks to Dimitri Contoyannis for making this happen.
Group 3: Advancing BEM Capabilities and Metrics
At this group’s meeting on September 1st, three topics of interest were fielded as top priorities for the group in November: New hydronic heat pump functionality in the ACM, the development of the new ASHRAE 205 Standard (Representation of Performance Simulation Data for HVAC&R and other Facility Equipment) and identifying new components needing addition to the current Title 24 performance compliance pathway. Folks also expressed interest in discussing the need for additional clarity in the 2022 AMC’s MF baseline assumptions.
The Co-Chairs are following up on a submission to the Software Efficiency Intake ideas form, with the intent of taking the items to the Title 24 CASE team.