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Rich Karney is an Energy Star Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Energy and is a long-standing, active participant at NFRC meetings. Update talked with Rich to discuss DOE’s current overhaul of the ENERGY STAR® criteria as it relates to fenestration. He also shared his thoughts on the state of one of America’s oldest baseball teams.
DOE has been a staunch supporter of NFRC since the very beginning. How does DOE support NFRC today, and where do you see the relationship going in the years ahead?
DOE still provides NFRC some financial assistance for administrative, international and research activities. We look to its members to provide the bulk of NFRC financial needs. We hope to provide some augmentation of the development of the Component Modeling Approach program, but are waiting for our final budgetary details to be worked out.
DOE will continue to serve as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors, providing oversight on the council’s direction and conduct. We’ll also provide technical assistance through our national window R&D program.
DOE announced last summer its intent to update the ENERGY STAR criteria to increase the energy efficiency of fenestration products. What is the current status of these updates?
We are in the midst of analyzing the input we’ve received from manufacturers and other interested stakeholders. The assistance we’ve gotten from the industry has been outstanding. I’ve been very pleased with the cooperation of the parties and the gives and takes have been enlightening for me and my team.
We hope to publish the analysis and proposed criteria at the end of February/beginning of March and will meet with manufacturers and stakeholders here in Washington at the end of March. We will evaluate the comments received from the proposal, at the meeting, and those afterwards with the intent of announcing final criteria in May.
Of the possible changes to the ENERGY STAR criteria, which would you say is the most significant?
I’d like to say all changes are significant, otherwise why bother? The change in the map, the possibility of having SHGC requirements in the far northern zone, requiring IGU certification, phasing in more stringent criteria over time, asking industry to strive towards more efficient products, etc., are all significant and important in supporting the goal of increasing energy efficiency throughout the nation and our internal goal of getting towards the Zero Energy Building.
Is DOE still seeking to implement the ENERGY STAR qualification requirements in a phased approach? If so, what will be the first major step?
The establishment of three sets of criteria provides industry our goals for the near, mid, and long term. We want to be aggressive, thus providing the consumer assurance they will get outstanding energy efficiency from their qualified windows as the program evolves over time. At the same time, giving industry the time to research and develop these products, if necessary, without creating undue burden on these partners.
The first step is improving the criteria in the near term. We intend not to create hardship for manufacturers, asking them to use existing technologies or making minor adjustments to their processes to meet the first set of requirements. The first major step will be in the mid term where significant modifications may be needed to attain these numbers. Here, we’re asking for manufacturers to incorporate technologies not necessarily in the mainstream and to tap into developments coming from DOE or other research programs. In our long term thinking, we are asking for dramatic improvements to window performance by meshing in technologies that may not even be on the shelf today.
Ultimately, what impact do you believe the ENERGY STAR updates will have on state energy codes?
We’ve always felt ENERGY STAR should augment codes, not be codes. We want to provide consumers with products going above the efficiency floors set by code bodies with opportunities to maximize, cost effectively, energy savings in their homes.
At the NFRC Membership Meeting last fall, it was briefly mentioned that DOE is exploring a commercial ENERGY STAR program. Has there been any work done on that front?
Not yet. We will conduct some preliminary/exploratory analysis after the residential program requirements are complete. As the commercial sector is more complex, our work will be that much more complicated.
From your perspective, with the rise of young, powerful teams like the Cleveland Indians and the departure of Joe Torre, many baseball commentators have predicted the end of the recent Yankees dynasty. Do you agree?
Unfortunately, there have not been remnants of a Yankee dynasty visible in recent years. With the influx of young pitchers and the sustaining of the core of the team, the potential for reinvigorating the dynasty is great. One must wonder, however, with the status quo being maintained by the Cleveland Indians combined with the uptick in A-ballplayers obtained by the Detroit Tigers, if the gains recently achieved by the Tribe will be short-lived.
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