Section NA1.3 summarizes responsibilities set forth in Appendix NA1 and organizes them by the responsible party. This section is not, however, a complete accounting of the responsibilities of the respective parties.
The builder shall make arrangements for submittal of a copy of the Certificate of Compliance, for buildings with duct systems requiring HERS verification, to the HERS Provider. The builder shall make arrangements for the services of a certified HERS Rater prior to installation of the duct systems, so that once the installation is complete the HERS Rater has ample time to complete the field verification and diagnostic testing without delaying final approval of occupancy for the building permit by the enforcement agency. The builder shall make available to the HERS Rater a copy of the Certificate of Compliance that was approved/signed by the principal designer or owner and submitted to the enforcement agency.
The builder’s employees or subcontractors responsible for the installation shall perform diagnostic testing, as specified in Reference Nonresidential Appendix NA1.4, NA1.5 and NA2, and shall complete and sign the Certificate of Installation and Certificate of Acceptance to certify the diagnostic testing results and that the installation work meets the requirements for compliance as shown on the Certificate of Compliance. The builder or subcontractor shall post a copy of the Certificate of Installation and Certificate of Acceptance at the construction site for review by the enforcement agency, in conjunction with requests for final inspection. The builder or subcontractor shall also make available a completed signed copy of the Certificate of Installation and Certificate of Acceptance to the HERS Rater.
If the builder chooses to utilize group sampling for HERS verification compliance, the builder, the builder’s authorized representative, or the HERS Rater shall identify the units to be included in the sample group for field verification and diagnostic testing. The HERS Rater, with no direction from the installer or builder, shall randomly select one duct system from a sample group for field verification and diagnostic testing upon receiving the builder’s or builder representative’s request for HERS verification of that group. The builder or the HERS Rater shall arrange for registered copies of all Certificates of Verification to be posted at the building site for review by the enforcement agency in conjunction with requests for final inspection for each individual system.
The builder shall leave in the building, for the building owner at occupancy, copies of all compliance, operating, maintenance, and ventilation information specified in applicable sections of Title 24, Part 1, Section 10-103(b).
The HERS Provider shall maintain a Data Registry with the capability to receive and store data information provided by authorized users of the Data Registry sufficient to facilitate administration the of HERS compliance verification procedures and documentation procedures as described in NA1, Reference Residential Appendix RA2, and Joint Appendix JA7. Data Registry capabilities include a secure web-based interface accessible by authorized users, and the ability to receive and process data transfer files as specified by Reference Joint Appendix JA7. The HERS Provider shall maintain a list of the space conditioning units in the group from which sampling is drawn, the units selected for sampling, the units sampled and the results of the sampling, the units selected for re-sampling, the units that have been tested and verified as a result of re-sampling, and the corrective action taken. The Provider shall retain records of all information content and approval signatures for completed registered Certificate of Verification forms for a period of five years per Title 20 Section 1673(d).
The HERS Rater providing the diagnostic testing and verification shall transmit the test results to the Data Registry. A registered copy of the Certificate of Verification from the Provider, signed by the Rater, shall be provided for the “tested" unit and each of the remaining ”not tested” units from a designated sample group for which compliance is verified based on the results of a sample. The HERS Provider’s registered copy of the Certificate of Verification shall be made available to the HERS Rater, the builder, the enforcement agency, and other authorized users of the Data Registry, and a copy of the completed signed Certificate of Verification shall be posted at the building site for review by the enforcement agency in conjunction with requests for final inspection.
The HERS Rater shall produce a separate Certificate of Verification for each system that meets the diagnostic requirements for compliance. The registered Certificate of Verification shall have unique HERS Provider-designated identifiers for registration number, and sample group number, and shall include the lot location, building permit number, time and date stamp of issuance of the certificate, Provider logo or seal, and indicate if the space conditioning unit has been “tested or if it was a “not tested” unit approved as part of sample group. The HERS Rater shall not provide a Certificate of Verification for a building with a space conditioning unit that does not have a completed signed Certificate of Installation as specified in Section NA1.4 and Certificate of Acceptance as specified in Section NA1.5.
If field verification and diagnostic testing on a sampled space conditioning unit identifies a failure to meet the requirements for compliance credit, the HERS Rater shall report to the HERS Provider, the builder, and the enforcement agency that re-sampling will be required.
If re-sampling identifies another failure, the HERS Rater shall report to the HERS Provider, the builder, and the enforcement agency that corrective action, diagnostic testing, and field verification will be required for all the untested space conditioning units in the group. The report shall identify each space conditioning unit that shall be fully tested and corrected.
The HERS Provider shall also report to the builder when diagnostic testing and field verification has shown that the failures have been corrected for all of the space conditioning units.
When individual space conditioning unit testing and verification confirms that the requirements for compliance have been met, the HERS Provider shall make available to the builder and the enforcement agency a registered copy of the Certificate of Verification for each space conditioning unit in the group.
The HERS Provider shall file a report with the enforcement agency if there has been a sample group failure, explaining all actions taken (including field verification, testing, and corrective actions) to bring into compliance space conditioning units for which full testing has been required.
An approved third-party quality control program shall:
(a) Provide training to participating program installing contractors, installing technicians, and specialty third party quality control program subcontractors regarding compliance requirements for measures for which diagnostic testing and field verification are required,
(b) Collect data from participating installers for each installation completed for compliance credit,
(c) Complete data checking analysis to evaluate the validity and accuracy of the data to independently determine whether compliance has been achieved,
(d) Provide direction to the installer to retest and correct problems when data checking determines that compliance has not been achieved,
(e) Require resubmission of data when retesting and correction is directed, and
(f) Maintain a database of all data submitted by participating program installing contractors, installing technicians, and specialty Third Party Quality Control Program subcontractors, and shall provide functionality that allows Energy Commission staff to query retained data or documents.
The HERS Provider shall arrange for the services of an independent HERS Rater to conduct independent field verifications of the installation work performed by the participating installing contractor and the Third Party Quality Control Program, completing all of the responsibilities of a HERS Rater as specified in Appendix NA1 with the exception that sampling shall be completed for a group of up to 30 space conditioning systems.
The enforcement agency, at its discretion, may require independent testing and field verification to be scheduled so that it can be completed in conjunction with the enforcement agency’s required inspections. The enforcement agency may also require that it observe the diagnostic testing and field verification performed by builders or subcontractors and the certified HERS Rater in conjunction with the enforcement agency’s required inspections to corroborate the results documented on the Certificate of Installation, Certificate of Acceptance, and the Certificate of Verification.
For space conditioning systems for which field verification and diagnostic testing is required for compliance, the enforcement agency shall not approve a building with individual single zone package space conditioning equipment for occupancy until the enforcement agency has received a completed Certificate of Installation and Certificate of Acceptance that has been signed by the builder/owner or installing subcontractor, and a completed registered copy of the Certificate of Verification that has been made available by the HERS Provider Data Registry. The Certificates shall be posted at the building site for review by the enforcement agency in conjunction with requests for final inspection.