Shawna Cuan, Building & Industrial Energy Efficiency Program Specialist for the Utah Governor’s Office of Energy Development has been appointed by the RESNET Standards Management Board to serve on the RESNET Standard Development Committee (SDC) 900. The RESNET SDC 900 is responsible for the development and amending of RESNET’s quality assurance standards. Shawna has worked in the energy sector for the past seven years, particularly in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy security. For the Utah Governor’s Office Energy Development she is responsible for overseeing the State’s residential and commercial energy code trainings to improve code compliance and enforcement. Her appointment to the SDC is important in that Ms. Cuan brings a state energy office that has adopted the Energy Rating Index compliance option perspective to the consistency and quality of HERS® ratings. The State of Utah has joined the ranks of state and municipal code jurisdictions that have incorporated the Energy Rating Index as a compliance option to their residential energy building codes with the Utah State Legislature adoption of H.B. 316. Across the nation the RESNET HERS® Index Score is fast becoming a mainstream in the housing market. Homebuilders are having their homes energy rated and are marketing the HERS® Index Score of their homes. Multiple Listing Services (MLS) are incorporating the HERS® Index Scores in their listings and code jurisdictions are recognizing a HERS® Index Score as a building energy code compliance option. With the increased visibility of the HERS® Index Score, RESNET is obligated to ensure that HERS® Index Scores are as consistent as possible. This need has been made more important with the International Code Council adopting an Energy Rating Index option to the 2015 International Energy Conservation Code. RESNET has embarked on a comprehensive effort to enhance the consistency of HERS® Index Scores nationally. This includes the upgrading of its quality assurance standards and procedures. Shawna Cuan has a Master’s in Public Policy (emphasis in Environmental Policy and Regulation) from Georgetown University and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
