Section 255.253 - Definitions; ss. 255.251-255.2575(1) "Department" means the Department of Management Services.(2) "Facility" means a building or other structure.(3) "Energy performance index or indices" (EPI) means a number describing the energy requirements at the building boundary of a facility, per square foot of floor space or per cubic foot of occupied volume, as appropriate under defined internal and external ambient conditions over an entire seasonal cycle. As experience develops on the energy performance achieved with state building, the indices (EPI) will serve as a measure of building performance with respect to energy consumption.(4) "Life-cycle costs" means the cost of owning, operating, and maintaining the facility over the life of the structure. This may be expressed as an annual cost for each year of the facility's use.(5) "Shared savings financing" means the financing of energy conservation measures and maintenance services through a private firm which may own any purchased equipment for the duration of a contract, which shall not exceed 10 years unless so authorized by the department. Such contract shall specify that the private firm will be recompensed either out of a negotiated portion of the savings resulting from the conservation measures and maintenance services provided by the private firm or, in the case of a cogeneration project, through the payment of a rate for energy lower than would otherwise have been paid for the same energy from current sources.(6) "Sustainable building" means a building that is healthy and comfortable for its occupants and is economical to operate while conserving resources, including energy, water, and raw materials and land, and minimizing the generation and use of toxic materials and waste in its design, construction, landscaping, and operation.(7) "Sustainable building rating or national model green building code" means a rating system established by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), the Green Building Initiative's Green Globes rating system, the Florida Green Building Coalition standards, or a nationally recognized, high-performance green building rating system as approved by the department.s. 3, ch. 74-187; s. 2, ch. 85-256; s. 36, ch. 85-349; s.180, ch. 92-279; s.55, ch. 92-326; s.14, ch. 98-279; s.18, ch. 2008-227; s.4, ch. 2011-222.