§ 1885 — Mechanical insulation energy savings program

§ 1885. Mechanical insulation energy savings program. 1. Definitions.\nFor purposes of this section:\n (a) "Applicant" shall mean any school district, public hospital,\npublic housing building, or political subdivision as defined in the\ngeneral municipal law, with a building or buildings that have a\npotential need for mechanical insulation upgrades. The minimum size for\nany single building to be considered shall be twenty thousand square\nfeet.\n (b) "Mechanical insulation" shall mean insulation materials, facings\nand accessory products used for thermal requirements for mechanical\npiping and equipment, hot and cold applications, heating, ventilation,\nand air-conditioning applications.\n (c) "Qualified audit" shall mean a mechanical insulation audit of a\nbuilding by a qualified contractor, which identifies missing, damaged or\nimproperly installed mechanical insulation. Such audit shall include an\nestimate of installation costs along with estimated energy and cost\nsavings. Such audit shall be provided by the qualified contractor at no\ncost to the authority or applicant.\n (d) "Qualified mechanical insulation expenditures" shall mean the\npurchase of insulation materials, facings and accessory products used\nfor thermal requirements for mechanical piping and equipment, hot and\ncold applications, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning\napplications and all associated labor costs properly allocable to\non-site preparation, assembly and original installation, so long as\nperformed by a qualified contractor and in accordance with sections two\nhundred twenty, two hundred twenty-b and two hundred twenty-i of the\nlabor law.\n (e) "Qualified contractor" shall mean an insulation contractor that is\nparty to an apprenticeship agreement, as defined in section eight\nhundred sixteen of the labor law, which is in good standing, appropriate\nfor the type and scope of work to be performed, including the minimum\nAmerican Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning\nEngineers Standard 90.1-2007, providing the energy standard for\nbuildings except low-rise residential buildings.\n 2. The authority is hereby authorized and directed to establish and\nadminister a mechanical insulation energy savings program to provide\napplicants with qualified audits and grants to purchase mechanical\ninsulation. The authority shall establish an audit process whereby an\napplicant may request a qualified audit. Such audit, if approved by the\nauthority, shall be provided to the applicant at no cost.\n 3. As part of this program, the authority shall issue grants for\napplicants that have completed a qualified audit, which will cover one\nhundred percent of the qualified mechanical insulation expenditures.\n 4. Within one year of the effective date of this section, the\nauthority shall establish rules and regulations and identify eligible\nfunding to create the mechanical insulation energy savings program and\ncreate guidelines for preferred applicants, buildings and energy\nsavings.\n