(a) On or after January 1, 2010, no building permit shall be issued for a new single-family dwelling that does not include a solar water heater system that meets the standards established pursuant to § 269-44, unless the chief energy officer of the Hawaii state energy office approves a variance. A variance application shall only be accepted if submitted by an architect or mechanical engineer licensed under chapter 464, who attests that:
Energy: means work or heat that is, or may be, produced from any fuel or source whatsoever. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 196-2
(1) Installation is impracticable due to poor solar resource;(2) Installation is cost-prohibitive based upon a life cycle cost-benefit analysis that incorporates the average residential utility bill and the cost of the new solar water heater system with a life cycle that does not exceed fifteen years;(3) A renewable energy technology system, as defined in section 235-12.5, is substituted for use as the primary energy source for heating water; or(4) A demand water heater device approved by Underwriters Laboratories, Inc., is installed; provided that at least one other gas appliance is installed in the dwelling. For the purposes of this paragraph, “demand water heater” means a gas-tankless instantaneous water heater that provides hot water only as it is needed.(b) A request for a variance shall be submitted to the chief energy officer of the Hawaii state energy office on an application prescribed by the chief energy officer of the Hawaii state energy office and shall include a description of the location of the property and justification for the approval of a variance using the criteria established in subsection (a). A variance shall be deemed approved if not denied within thirty working days after receipt of the variance application. The chief energy officer of the Hawaii state energy office shall publicize:
(1) All applications for a variance within seven days after receipt of the variance application; and(2) The disposition of all applications for a variance within seven days of the determination of the variance application.(c) The director of business, economic development, and tourism may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to impose and collect fees to cover the costs of administering variances under this section. The fees, if any, shall be deposited into the energy security special fund established under section 201-12.8.(d) Nothing in this section shall preclude any county from establishing procedures and standards required to implement this section.(e) Nothing in this section shall preclude participation in any utility demand-side management program or public benefits fee program under part VII of chapter 269.
