HOPE for HOMES Act of 2020
A BILL
To make grants to support online training of residential contractors and rebates for the energy efficiency upgrades of homes, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Definitions
In this Act:
Contractor certification— The term contractor certification means an industry-recognized certification that may be obtained by a residential contractor to advance the expertise and education of the contractor in energy efficiency retrofits of a residential building, including a certification provided by—
the Building Performance Institute;
the Air Conditioning Contractors of America;
the National Comfort Institute;
the North American Technician Excellence;
RESNET;
the United States Green Building Council;
Home Innovation Research Labs; or
any other certification body or organization the Secretary determines appropriate or needed to support the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program in title II.
Contractor company— The term contractor company means a company—
that holds the licenses and insurance required by the State in which the company provides services;
the business of which is to provide services to residential building owners with respect to HVAC systems, insulation, air sealing, or other services that are approved by the Secretary; and
that provides services for which a partial system rebate, measured performance rebate, or modeled performance rebate may be provided pursuant to the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program in title II.
Energy audit— The term energy audit means an inspection, survey, and analysis of the energy use of a building, including the building envelope and HVAC system.
Home— The term home means a residential dwelling unit in a building with no more than 4 dwelling units that—
is located in the United States;
was constructed before the date of enactment of this Act; and
is occupied at least 6 months out of the year.
Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program— The term Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program means the Home Energy Savings Retrofit Rebate Program established under section 201.
Homeowner— The term homeowner means the owner of an owner-occupied home or a tenant-occupied home.
Home valuation certification— The term home valuation certification means the following home assessments:
Home Energy Score.
PEARL Certification.
ICC700 National Green Building Standard.
LEED.
Any other assessment the Secretary determines to be appropriate.
HOPE qualification— The term HOPE qualification means the qualification described in section 103.
HOPE training credit— The term HOPE training credit means a HOPE training task credit or a HOPE training supplemental credit.
HOPE training task credit— The term HOPE training task credit means a credit described in section 102(a).
HOPE training supplemental credit— The term HOPE training supplemental credit means a credit described in section 102(b).
HVAC system— The term HVAC system means a system—
consisting of a heating component, a ventilation component, and an air-conditioning component; and
which components may include central air conditioning, a heat pump, a furnace, a boiler, a rooftop unit, or a window unit.
Measured performance rebate— The term measured performance rebate means a rebate provided in accordance with section 203 and described in subsection (e) of that section.
Modeled performance rebate— The term modeled performance rebate means a rebate provided in accordance with section 203 and described in subsection (d) of that section.
Moderate income— The term moderate income, with respect to a household, means a household with an annual income less than 80 percent of the area median income as determined annually by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Partial system rebate— The term partial system rebate means a rebate provided in accordance with section 202.
Secretary— The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
State— The term State includes—
a State;
the District of Columbia;
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
Guam;
American Samoa;
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;
the United States Virgin Islands; and
any other territory or possession of the United States.
State energy office— The term State energy office means the office or agency of a State responsible for developing the State energy conservation plan for the State under section 362 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6322).