## RA2.3 Documentation and Communication Requirements for HERS Verification Compliance

The building energy compliance features, HERS field verification requirements, and applicable special feature eligibility criteria shall be identified on a Certificate of Compliance that conforms to the requirements in Standards Sections 10-103(a)1 and 10-103(a)2. The builder or subcontractor shall submit all applicable Certificate of Installation documentation in conformance with the requirements in Standards Section 10-103(a)3 and the procedures described in RA2 and shall provide certification that the construction/installation complies with all applicable requirements on the Certificate of Compliance and complies with all applicable field verification and eligibility criteria. Field verification shall be performed by a HERS Rater and documented on applicable Certificate of Verification documentation that conforms to the requirements of Standards Section 10-103(a)5 and the procedures in RA2.

### RA2.3.1 Documentation Constraints, Registration, and Verification

The performance compliance method allows for preparation of Certificate of Compliance documentation for multifamily buildings that precludes use of certain HERS verification compliance credits that would otherwise be available for compliance credit as described in Section RA2.3.1.1 below. Document registration is required for all dwelling units that utilize building energy features for which HERS verification is required as introduced in Section RA2.3.1.2 and described in the procedures in subsequent sections of RA2. Verification of electronic documentation is introduced in section RA2.3.1.3 and is applicable to many aspects of the documentation procedures described in subsequent sections of RA2.

RA2.3.1.1 Whole-Building Compliance Approach for Multifamily Buildings

For multifamily buildings, a single Certificate of Compliance may be prepared for the whole building, however dwelling unit-specific Certificates of Installation and dwelling unit-specific Certificates of Verification shall be required for each individual dwelling unit in the building. Thus, for the whole-building compliance approach in a multifamily building utilizing features that require HERS verification, the required energy compliance documentation for each dwelling unit shall consist of a copy of the whole-building Certificate of Compliance, the applicable dwelling unit-specific Certificates of Installation, and the applicable dwelling unit-specific Certificates of Verification.

When the whole-building compliance approach is utilized for a multifamily building, some energy efficiency measures that require HERS field verification shall not be used for compliance credit in performance compliance calculations. These measures require dwelling unit-specific information input to the compliance software, and dwelling unit-specific information that must be shown on the Certificate of Compliance, thus these measures cannot be properly documented using a whole-building Certificate of Compliance (which is not a dwelling unit-specific document type). The HERS measures that shall not be utilized for the multifamily whole-building compliance approach are:

(a) Buried Ducts credit

(b) Deeply Buried Ducts credit

(c) Reduced Duct Surface Area credit

(d) Building Envelope Sealing credit for reduced outdoor air infiltration (blower door test)

All other measures that require HERS field verification and diagnostic testing are allowed for use with the multifamily whole-building compliance approach.

RA2.3.1.2 Document Registration

For all low-rise residential buildings for which compliance requires HERS field verification, all compliance documentation (Certificate of Compliance, Certificate of Installation, and Certificate of Verification) required for the dwelling unit shall be submitted for registration and retention to a HERS Provider data registry. When submittal of documentation to a HERS Provider data registry is required, the completed documents are referred to as registered documents, and the process of completing these documents by submitting information and certification signatures to the HERS Provider data registry is called registration. Refer to Reference Joint Appendix JA1 for the definitions for HERS Provider data registry, and for registered document. Additional specification for the document registration process is given in Reference Joint Appendix JA7.

RA2.3.1.3 Verification of Registered Documents

Printed paper copies or electronic copies of the completed, signed, registered Certificate of Compliance, Certificate of Installation, and Certificate of Verification documentation shall be allowed for use for required submittals to enforcement agencies, subject to verification that the information shown on the submitted document(s) conforms to the information shown on the current revision of the registered document(s) on file in the HERS Provider data registry for the applicable dwelling unit.

The HERS Provider shall make document verification services available via phone, internet, or utilization of digital technologies, to enable enforcement agency officials, builders, installation contractors, HERS Raters, and other authorized users of the HERS Provider data registry to verify that the information shown on submitted documentation is consistent with the information shown on the current revision of the registered document on file in the HERS Provider data registry for the applicable dwelling unit.

### RA2.3.2 Summary of Documentation and Communication Procedures

The documentation and communication process for measures that require field verification and diagnostic testing is summarized below. The subsequent sections of this chapter contain additional information and requirements that apply to all situations; however the section on alterations, RA2.8, applies specifically to the differences in the requirements for alterations. Section RA2.7 applies specifically to the differences in the requirements for Third Party Quality Control Programs.

(a) A Certificate of Compliance shall be prepared for each dwelling unit or building that requires a building permit. The Certificate of Compliance information shall be submitted to the HERS Provider data registry, validated, and signed by the documentation author and the building’s designer or owner to register the documentation prior to submittal of the Certificate of Compliance to the enforcement agency for approval. The documentation author and the building designer or owner shall submit certification to the HERS Provider data registry electronically.

(b) The builder shall arrange for the services of a certified HERS Rater prior to installation of the measures, 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 the dwelling unit 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 building designer or owner and submitted to the enforcement agency. The builder or subcontractor shall install the measure(s) that require field verification and diagnostic testing. When the installation is complete, the builder or subcontractor shall perform diagnostic testing on the installation using the applicable procedures specified in Reference Residential Appendix RA2.5, RA3, and RA1. If testing confirms compliance, the builder or subcontractor shall submit the required information and signatures electronically to the HERS Provider data registry to register the applicable Certificate(s) of Installation, then post a copy of the applicable registered Certificate(s) of Installation at the building site for review by the enforcement agency in conjunction with requests for final inspection for each dwelling unit.

(c) The HERS Rater shall confirm that registration of the Certificate(s) of Compliance and the applicable Certificate(s) of Installation has been completed for each dwelling unit that requires HERS verification. The HERS Rater shall complete the applicable field verification and diagnostic testing as specified in Section RA2.6. The HERS Rater shall submit the required field verification and diagnostic testing information and signatures electronically to the HERS Provider data registry to register the applicable Certificate of Verification documentation.

(d) The HERS Provider shall make available registered copies of the Certificate(s) of Verification to the HERS Rater, builder, enforcement agency and other authorized users of the HERS Provider data registry.

(e) The enforcement agency shall not approve a dwelling unit until the enforcement agency has received the required registered Certificate(s) of Verification, posted at the building site for review in conjunction with requests for final inspection for the dwelling. The HERS Provider shall make document verification services available, to enforcement agencies, builders and contractors, HERS Raters, the Energy Commission, and other authorized users of the HERS Provider data registry. The HERS Provider shall ensure that the content and approval signatures for copies of submitted Certificate(s) of Compliance, Certificate(s) of Installation, and Certificate(s) Verification are retained as specified by Title 20, Division 2, Chapter 4, Article 8, Section 1673(e).