Sec. 508.2. Definitions

For purposes of this Part, the following terms shall mean:

(a) Air barrier means the system of materials designed and constructed to control unintended airflow into and out of a building enclosure. In a residential building with multiple dwelling units, air barrier includes common walls that separate conditioned air between adjacent dwelling units.

(b) Air changes per hour (ACH) means the number of times per hour that the complete air volume in a residential building is exchanged with outside air.

(c) Air sealing measures means physical barriers including, but not limited to, caulks, foams, gaskets, weather stripping, door sweeps, or residential building wraps that seal holes and seal penetrations from, including, but not limited to, piping, wiring, lighting fixtures, or ducts, or between seams, into or within the residential building.

(d) Air source heat pump means a space conditioning system that uses air as both a heat source and sink, and uses a reversible refrigeration cycle to provide either heating or cooling.

(e) ANSI/ACCA Standard 5 QI-2007 means the Air Conditioning Contractors of America HVAC Quality Installation Specification for Residential and Commercial Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Applications.

(f) Application means a request by an owner for a program incentive containing the information required by this Part.

(g) Authority means the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

(h) Blower door means a device consisting of a fan, a removable panel, and gauges that are placed in a doorway and used to depressurize a residential building so that air changes per hour (ACH) can be measured and air leaks in the building envelope can be located.

(i) Boiler means a self-contained device that supplies low-pressure steam or hot water for space heating, and that may provide hot water for domestic or other uses.

(j) Btu means British thermal unit.

(k) Building envelope means a residential building's shell, including the exterior walls, floor, and roof assembly.

(l) Ceiling fan means a non-portable device that circulates air through the rotation of fan blades and that is attached to and suspended from the ceiling.

(m) Central air conditioner means a device, other than a packaged terminal air conditioner, that:

(1) is powered by single phase electric current;

(2) is air cooled;

(3) is rated below 65,000 Btus per hour;

(4) is not contained within the same cabinet as a furnace, the rated capacity of which is above 225,000 Btus per hour; and

(5) consists of a cooling unit only.

(n) CFL means compact fluorescent lamp.

(o) Closed loop ground source heat pump means a ground heat exchanger in which the heat transfer fluid is permanently contained in a closed system.

(p) Combination ventilation fan means a device that includes a ventilating fan and either a light source for general lighting or a night light.

(q) Combined annual efficiency (CAE) means the overall efficiency of a heating system in providing both space heating and water heating.

(r) Compact dishwasher means a dishwasher with a capacity of less than eight place settings (consisting of one cup and saucer, one dinner plate, one bread and butter plate, one dessert bowl, one iced tea glass, one knife, one spoon, and two forks) and six serving pieces (consisting of one serving platter, two serving bowls, one serving cold meat fork, and two serving spoons).

(s) Conditioned space means space within the residential building's air barrier and thermal envelope that is served by a heating system and may include a cooling system.

(t) Direct expansion ground source heat pump system means a geothermal heat pump system in which the refrigerant is circulated in pipes buried in the ground and includes all associated indoor and outdoor equipment.

(u) Dwelling unit means a single, independent unit for providing permanent living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation facilities, for one or more persons to perform life activities.

(v) Electronically commutated motor (ECM) means a brushless, direct current motor which uses an electronic controller to vary fan rotor speed and direction by sequentially supplying direct current to the motor windings.

(w) Energy factor (EF) means the ratio of useful energy output from a domestic water heater to the total amount of energy delivered to the domestic water heater.

(x) Expanded home energy rating system (HERS) score means a numeric comparison of the relative energy efficiency between a newly constructed or renovated residential building and a referenced residential building meeting only the minimum requirements of the Energy Conservation Construction Code of New York (19 NYCRR Part 1240); an "Expanded HERS score" is expressed on an ascending scale, from 70 to 100.

(y) First-hour rating means the amount of hot water in gallons per hour that a storage domestic water heater can supply when starting with a tank full of hot water.

(z) Flame retention burner means an oil burner with steady-state efficiency over 80 percent.

(aa) Furnace means a device with a heat input rate of less than 225,000 Btus per hour to produce forced hot air; a "furnace" includes a burner(s), heat exchanger(s), blower(s), and connections to heating ducts.

(ab) Green residential building standards means the standards, guidelines, rating and certification systems, and criteria relating to design and building techniques for residential buildings established and prescribed by this Part.

(ac) Ground source heat pump means a space conditioning system that employs a geothermal resource - the ground, groundwater, or surface water - as both a heat source and sink, and uses a reversible refrigeration cycle to provide either heating or cooling. A ground source heat pump may be part of an open loop system, where the heat transfer fluid is extracted, used, and returned to the environment, a closed loop system, where the heat transfer fluid is permanently contained within the system, or a direct expansion system, where only a refrigerant is circulated through the pipes and there is no separate heat transfer fluid component.

(ad) Home energy rating system (HERS) index means a numeric comparison of relative energy resource use between a newly constructed or renovated residential building and a referenced residential building meeting only the minimum requirements of the Energy Conservation Construction Code of New York (19 NYCRR Part 1240); a "HERS Index" is expressed on a descending scale, with a score of 0 indicating that the residential building uses no net purchased energy resources.

(ae) In-line ventilating fan means a fan installed within the residential building containing ductwork on both intake and exhaust.

(af) LEED means the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating Systems, developed by the U. S. Green Building Council.

(ag) Light kit means a complete lighting unit consisting of lamp(s) and ballasting, when applicable, or LED light engine(s), together with the parts designed to distribute the light, to position and protect the lamp(s), and to connect the lamp(s) to the main(s).

(ah) NGBS means the National Green Buildings Standard, International Code Council (ICC) 700-2008, developed by the National Association of Home Builders, as approved by the American National Standards Institute.

(ai) Open loop ground source heat pump means a ground heat exchanger in which the heat transfer fluid is part of a larger environment, and which may use groundwater or surface water as the heat transfer medium.

(aj) Owner means a person who holds title to a residential building with qualified occupied square footage on the date that:

(1) a certificate of occupancy is issued to such building in the case of a new residential building; or

(2) substantial renovations to an existing residential building are completed and a certificate of occupancy or certificate of completion is issued to such building in connection with such renovation.

(ak) Peak hour demand means the maximum potential use of hot water in one hour by occupants for purposes of bathing and performing other personal hygiene activities, washing dishes, preparing foods, and washing clothes.

(al) Program means the Green Residential Building Program prescribed by this Part.

(am) Qualified occupied square footage means the habitable spaces of a residential building meeting the green residential building standards; "qualified occupied square footage" shall not include any common areas, storage areas, mechanical rooms, utility rooms, attic and crawl spaces, attached and detached garages, and other unoccupied spaces or the portion of a mixed-use building that does not constitute a dwelling unit.

(an) Radiant heating system means a heating system that supplies heat directly to the floor, panels on the wall, or ceiling.

(ao) Residential building means a structure including fewer than 12 attached dwelling units and which is:

(1) a detached, single-family structure;

(2) a townhouse, which is a single-family dwelling unit and which has unbroken, insulated party walls with no penetrations, and such party walls extend from ground to roof where the dwelling unit is attached to one or more adjacent single-family dwelling units;

(3) a manufactured home, which is a factory-manufactured dwelling unit built on or after June 15, 1976, and which conforms to the requirements of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, 24 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 3280, is transportable in one or more sections, which in the traveling mode, is 8 feet (2438 mm) or more in width or 40 feet (12192 mm) or more in length, or, when erected on site, is 320 square feet (29.7 square meters) minimum, constructed on a permanent chassis and designed to be used with or without a permanent foundation, when connected to the required utilities and includes the plumbing, heating, air conditioning and electrical systems contained therein. The term manufactured home shall also include any structure that meets all the requirements of this definition except the size requirements and with respect to which the manufacturer voluntarily files a certification required by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development and complies with the standards established under the national Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Act of 1974, as amended, but excludes any self-propelled recreational vehicle. For purposes of this Part, the term manufactured home shall include only those structures that are sited on a permanent foundation;

(4) a modular home, which is a structure consisting of a factory-manufactured dwelling unit, conforming to the requirements of the Residential Code of New York (19 NYCRR Part 1220), including bearing an insignia of approval issued by the New York State Fire Prevention and Code Council, and which is constructed by a method or system of construction whereby the structure or its components are wholly or in substantial part manufactured in a manufacturing facility, intended or designed for permanent installation, or assembly and permanent installation, and for purposes of this Part, shall be sited on a permanent foundation; or

(5) a multi-family structure means a structure containing two or more dwelling units, excluding townhouses.

(ap) Single package central air conditioner means a central air conditioner that combines both condenser and air handling capabilities in a single casing.

(aq) Single package heat pump means an air-source heat pump that combines both condenser and air handling capabilities in a single casing.

(ar) Split system central air conditioner means a central air conditioner with separate indoor (evaporator) and outdoor (condenser) units.

(as) Split system heat pump means an air-source heat pump with separate indoor (evaporator) and outdoor (condenser) units.

(at) Standard dishwasher means a dishwasher that has a capacity equal to or greater than eight place settings (consisting of one cup and saucer, one dinner plate, one bread and butter plate, one dessert bowl, one iced tea glass, one knife, one spoon, and two forks) and six serving pieces (consisting of one serving platter, two serving bowls, one serving cold meat fork, and two serving spoons).

(au) Substantial renovations means significant improvements or restorations to, or substantial replacement of, materials, systems, or components of, a residential building, which shall include installation or replacement necessary to effect aligned, continuous, and complete air and thermal barriers and must include installation or replacement, of two of the three following building systems: electrical; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; and plumbing.

(av) Tankless water heater means:

(1) a water heater that uses natural gas as an energy source;

(2) initiates heating based on sensing water flow;

(3) is designed to deliver water at a controlled temperature of less than 180°F;

(4) has an input greater than 50,000 Btus per hour but less than 200,000 Btus per hour; and

(5) has a manufacturer's specified storage capacity of less than two gallons.

(aw) Technician means an individual who meets the training and qualifications prescribed by section 508.8 of this Part.

(ax) Thermal envelope means the layer of materials in a building envelope that controls the transfer of heat between conditioned and unconditioned spaces.

(ay) Ventilation fan means a device used to move air from inside the building to the outdoors and may include a mounted fan installed in a bathroom or utility room and a kitchen range hood.