NIA Supports the Mechanical Insulation Industry
2023 Activity
NIA Supports Updated Federal Mechanical Insulation Act
November 9, 2023—At its recent Fall Summit members-only meeting in the Washington, DC, area, the National Insulation Association (NIA) Board of Directors voted to support passage of H.R. 4663: Federal Mechanical Insulation Act.
The act is federal legislation “to clarify that installation of mechanical insulation property is as an energy or water efficiency measure that may be used in Federal buildings for purposes of section 543(f) of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, and for other purposes.”
NIA Executive Vice President/CEO Michele M. Jones noted, “Having legislators recognize our mechanical insulation industry’s efforts to increase energy efficiency and reduce emissions is a huge step forward in our goal to have mechanical insulation be considered a primary first step toward making our buildings and industrial facilities more sustainable. When the government sets the standard for Federal buildings as part of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act, this is a positive step forward.”
The legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. NIA will continue to provide updates on the progress of this legislation.
NIA Urges Congress to Support Small Businesses by Delaying New Regulation
November 16, 2023 — NIA joined industry groups to strongly urge Congress to act now and delay implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act by 1 year. Doing so will give sufficient time to improve and finalize the statute’s regulatory framework while giving stakeholders time to prepare for their new compliance obligations.
NIA Voices Support for Updated Building Codes
October 2023 — NIA has voiced support of Wisconsin’s SPS 363, the Commercial Building Energy Code, as proposed by the Department under CR23-007. Updating to the 2021 IECC will improve Wisconsin’s construction practices, will reduce commercial building owners’ energy burdens (including energy costs paid by taxpayers for state-operated buildings), and will have a positive impact on Wisconsin’s economy, employment, and environment, and is cost effective. Improving building energy efficiency also increases the reliability of the state’s electric and energy grid. View the full letter here.
NIA Voices Support for Resilient Building Codes
September 2023 — NIA has signed on with industry organizations to demonstrate support of resilient building codes as part of FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC). To learn more about the BRIC program, visit the International Code Council’s website.
Mechanical Insulation Making Headlines |
Bipartisan Federal Mechanical Insulation Act (FMIA) of 2023 Introduced in U.S. House of Representatives |
August 2023 — The FMIA, House Resolution 4663, will advance federal energy efficiencies, save tax dollars, and reduce energy loss and emissions for the approximately 350,000 federal buildings in the United States. It also will add an important audit metric for regulators to include when assessing federal buildings’ measure of mechanical insulation efficiencies.
The new legislation would clarify that mechanical insulation energy audits qualify under “comprehensive energy and water evaluations” in Section 432 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
In recognition of the important role that mechanical insulation plays in lowering operating expenses, reducing energy loss, and decreasing emissions, the legislation makes the following specific changes to portions of the EISA:
- Defines “mechanical insulation property” as materials, facings, and accessory products that are part of a mechanical system and that reduce energy loss from that mechanical system, thereby allowing for the inclusion of these items as qualifying energy and water efficiency measures.