SB2322 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
SB2322

Introduced 1/28/2004, by Patrick Welch

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards Act. Provides minimum efficiency standards for certain new products sold or installed in this State. Requires manufacturers to test their products and certify the results to IEPA. Requires manufacturers to identify conforming products by means of a mark, label, or tag. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning energy efficiency.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards Act.

Section 5. Purpose and findings.

(a) This Act provides for the establishment of minimum efficiency standards for certain products sold or installed in this State.

(b) The legislature finds that:

(1) Efficiency standards for certain products sold or installed in this State assure consumers and businesses that the products meet minimum efficiency performance levels, thus saving money on utility bills.

(2) Such efficiency standards save energy and thus reduce pollution and other environmental impacts associated with the production, distribution, and use of electricity and natural gas.

(3) Such efficiency standards can make electricity systems more reliable by reducing the strain on the electricity grid during peak demand periods. Furthermore, improved energy efficiency can reduce or delay the need for new power plants, power transmission lines, and power distribution system upgrades.

(4) Energy efficiency standards contribute to the economy of this State by enabling consumers and business owners to spend less on energy, leaving more for the purchase of local goods and services.

Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Board" means the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

"Ceiling fan" means a non-portable device that is suspended from a ceiling for circulating air via the rotation of fan blades.

"Ceiling fan light kit" means the equipment used to provide light from a ceiling fan. This equipment can be (i) integral such that the ceiling fan light kit is hardwired to the ceiling fan or (ii) attachable such that the ceiling fan light kit is not, at the time of sale, physically attached to the fan. Attachable ceiling fan light kits might be included inside the ceiling fan package at the time of sale or sold separately for subsequent attachment to the fan.

"Commercial clothes washer" means a soft mount front-loading or soft mount top-loading clothes washer that is designed for use in (i) applications where the occupants of more than one household will be using it, such as in multi-family housing common areas and coin laundries or (ii) other commercial applications, if the clothes container compartment is no greater than 3.5 cubic feet for horizontal-axis clothes washers, or no greater than 4.0 cubic feet for vertical-axis clothes washers.

"Commercial refrigerators and freezers" means reach-in cabinets, pass-through cabinets, roll-in cabinets and roll-through cabinets that have less than 85 cubic feet of capacity and that are not walk-in models or consumer products regulated under the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987.

"Director" means the Director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Illuminated exit sign" means an internally-illuminated sign that is designed to be permanently fixed in place and used to identify an exit; a light source illuminates the sign or letters from within, and the background of the exit sign is not transparent.

"Large packaged air-conditioning equipment" means packaged air-conditioning equipment having 240,000 Btu/hour or more of cooling capacity.

"Low voltage dry-type distribution transformer" means a distribution transformer that (i) has an input voltage of 600 volts or less; (ii) is between 14 kVa and 2,501 kVa in size; (iii) is air-cooled; and (iv) does not use oil as a coolant.

"Packaged air-conditioning equipment" means air-conditioning equipment that is built as a package and shipped as a whole to end-user sites.

"Pass-through cabinet" means a commercial refrigerator or commercial freezer with hinged or sliding doors on both the front and rear of the refrigerator or freezer.

"Reach-in cabinet" means a commercial refrigerator, commercial refrigerator-freezer, or commercial freezer with hinged or sliding doors or lids, but excluding roll-in or roll-through cabinets and pass through cabinets.

"Roll-in or roll-through cabinet" means a commercial refrigerator or commercial freezer with hinged or sliding doors that allows wheeled racks of product to be rolled into or through the refrigerator or freezer.

"Torchiere lighting fixture" means a portable electric lighting fixture with a reflector bowl giving light directed upward so as to give indirect illumination.

"Traffic signal module" means a standard 8-inch (200mm) or 12-inch (300mm) round traffic signal indication. It consists of a light source, lens, and all parts necessary for operation and communicates movement messages to drivers through red, amber, and green colors. Arrow modules in the same colors are used to indicate turning movements.

"Transformer" means a device consisting essentially of 2 or more coils of insulated wire that transfers alternating current by electromagnetic induction from one coil to another in order to change the original voltage or current value.

"Unit heater" means a self-contained fan-type heater that uses natural gas, propane, or fuel oil and that is designed to be installed within a heated space. Unit heaters include an apparatus or appliance to supply heat and a fan for circulating air over a heat exchange surface, all enclosed in a common casing. Unit heaters do not include warm air furnaces as defined under the federal Energy Policy Act of 1992.

Section 15. Scope.

(a) The provisions of this Act apply to the testing, certification, and enforcement of efficiency standards for the following types of new products sold, offered for sale, or installed in this State: (1) ceiling fans and ceiling fan light kits; (2) commercial clothes washers; (3) commercial refrigerators and freezers; (4) illuminated exit signs; (5) large packaged air-conditioning equipment; (6) low voltage dry-type distribution transformers; (7) torchiere lighting fixtures; (8) traffic signal modules; (9) unit heaters; and (10) such other products as may be designated by the Director in accordance with Section 30.

(b) The provisions of this Act do not apply to (1) new products manufactured in this State and sold outside this State, (2) new products manufactured outside this State and sold at wholesale inside this State for final retail sale and installation outside this State, (3) products installed in mobile manufactured homes at the time of construction, or (4) products designed expressly for installation and use in recreational vehicles.

Section 20. Efficiency standards. The initial minimum efficiency standards for the types of new products set forth in Section 15 are as follows:

(1) Ceiling fans and ceiling fan light kits shall meet the Tier 1 criteria of the product specification (Version 1.1) of the "Energy Star Program Requirements for Residential Ceiling Fans" developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

(2) Commercial clothes washers shall meet the energy efficiency requirements for residential clothes washers in Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products: Clothes Washer Energy Conservation Standards, 66 Fed. Reg. 3314 (January 12, 2001) (to be codified at 10 CFR Part 430).

(3) Commercial refrigerators and freezers shall meet the August 1, 2004 requirements shown in Table A-6 of section 1605.3 of the California Code of Regulations, Title 20: Division 2, Chapter 4, Article 4: Appliance Efficiency Regulations that took effect on November 27, 2002.

(4) Illuminated exit signs shall meet the product specification (Version 2.0) of the "Energy Star Program Requirements for Exit Signs" developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

(5) Large packaged air-conditioning equipment shall meet the Tier 2 efficiency levels of the "Minimum Equipment Efficiencies for Unitary Commercial Air Conditioners" and "Minimum Equipment Efficiencies for Heat Pumps" developed by the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, Boston, MA, and that took effect on July 1, 2002.

(6) Low voltage dry-type distribution transformers shall meet or exceed the energy efficiency values shown in Table 4-2 of National Electrical Manufacturers Association Standard TP-1-2002.

(7) Torchiere lighting fixtures shall not consume more than 190 watts and shall not be capable of operating with lamps that total more than 190 watts.

(8) Traffic signal modules shall meet the product specification of the "Energy Star Program Requirements for Traffic Signals" developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and that took effect in February 2001.

(9) Unit heaters shall not have pilot lights and shall have either power venting or an automatic flue damper.

The initial minimum efficiency standards provided in this Section are subject to change by Board rule in accordance with Section 30.

Section 25. Implementation.

(a) Beginning January 1, 2006, no new product of a type subject to this Act may be sold or offered for sale in this State unless the efficiency of the new product meets or exceeds the applicable minimum efficiency standards.

(b) Beginning January 1, 2007, no new product of a type subject to this Act may be installed in this State unless the efficiency of the new product meets or exceeds the applicable minimum efficiency standards.

Section 30. New and revised standards; waiver.

(a) The Agency, after consultation with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, may propose to the Board (i) increased efficiency standards to replace any of the standards listed in Section 20, and (ii) new minimum efficiency standards for new products not specifically listed in Section 15. In proposing any new or increased efficiency standards, the Agency shall base that proposal upon a determination that the new or increased efficiency standards would serve to promote energy conservation in this State and would be cost effective for consumers who purchase and use the affected new products.

(b) The Board shall consider any new or increased efficiency standards proposed by the Agency, and shall adopt by rule those standards that it finds to be appropriate. In adopting any new or increased efficiency standard, the Board shall consider whether the new or increased efficiency standard would serve to promote energy conservation in this State and would be cost effective for consumers who purchase and use the affected new products. New or increased efficiency standards shall take effect no sooner than one year following the adoption of the rule providing for such new or increased efficiency standards.

(c) The Director may apply for a waiver of federal preemption in accordance with federal procedures for those products regulated by the federal government.

Section 35. Testing, certification, labeling, and enforcement.

(a) The manufacturers of new products subject to this Act shall cause samples of such products to be tested in accordance with the appropriate test procedures. With respect to efficiency standards adopted by reference under Section 20, the appropriate test methods shall be those specified in the adopted standards. Board rules providing for new or increased minimum efficiency standards shall specify the appropriate test methods, which shall be test methods approved by the U.S. Department of Energy or, in the absence of such test methods, other appropriate nationally recognized test methods.

(b) Manufacturers of new products subject to this Act shall certify to the Director that such products are in compliance with the provisions of this Act. The Director may adopt procedures and requirements governing the certification of such products and may work in coordination with the certification programs of other states. With respect to a product for which the Illinois efficiency standards and labelling requirements are the same as those of the federal government or another state, the Agency may accept as sufficient for compliance with this subsection the manufacturer's certification to the federal government or that other state, whichever is applicable, that the product complies with those standards and requirements.

(c) Manufacturers of new products subject to this Act shall identify each such product offered for sale or installation in this State as in compliance with the provisions of this Act by means of a mark, label, or tag on the product and packaging at the time of sale or installation. The Director shall propose and the Board shall adopt rules governing the identification of such products and packaging and may work in coordination with the labeling programs of other states.

(d) The Director may cause investigations to be made of complaints received concerning violations of this Act and may report the results of such investigations to the Attorney General. The Attorney General may institute proceedings to enforce the provisions of this Act.

(e) A manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or installer who violates any provision of this Act shall be issued a warning by the Director for the first violation. Repeat violations shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $250. Each violation shall constitute a separate offense, and each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. Penalties assessed under this subsection are in addition to costs assessed under subsection (d).

(f) The Agency may propose and the Board may adopt any rules that are necessary to ensure the proper implementation and enforcement of this Act.

Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.