H.R. 1802

Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015

Better Buildings Act of 2015

This bill requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to: (1) develop and publish model leasing provisions to encourage building owners and tenants to use greater cost-effective energy efficiency and water efficiency measures in commercial buildings, and (2) develop policies and practices to implement the measures for the realty services provided by the GSA to agencies.

This bill amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to require the Department of Energy (DOE) to study the feasibility of improving energy efficiency in commercial buildings through the design and construction of spaces with high-performance energy efficiency measures.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must develop a voluntary Tenant Star program within the Energy Star program to recognize tenants in commercial buildings that voluntarily achieve high levels of energy efficiency. The EPA may develop a voluntary program to recognize commercial building owners and tenants that use high-performance energy efficiency measures in the design and construction of leased spaces.

This bill amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide additional energy conservation standards for grid-enabled water heaters for use as part of an electric thermal storage or demand response program, which is a program that enables customers to reduce or shift their power use during peak demand periods.

A federal agency leasing space in a building without an Energy Star label must include in its lease provisions requirements that the space's energy efficiency be measured against a nationally-recognized benchmark. The agency must also meet certain energy consumption disclosure requirements.

DOE must maintain a database for storing and making available public energy-related information on commercial and multifamily buildings.