ARLINGTON, Va. — The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) has announced the launch of a new certification program for variable refrigerant flow (VRF) multi-split air conditioners and heat pumps.

Products in the VRF program are rated and tested in accordance with AHRI Standard 1230, Performance Rating of Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Multi-Split Air-Conditioning and Heat Pump Equipment. Systems sized under 65 MBH are currently certified to AHRI Standard 210/240.

“As VRFs are gaining popularity in the United States, launching this new certification program is timely,” said Bill Tritsis, AHRI vice president, certification. “Having a VRF program will provide the assurance that manufacturers’ performance ratings for the equipment have been independently verified, which will likely increase awareness of these products within the United States.”

This certification program:

• Covers matched variable refrigerant flow multi-split air conditioner and multi-split heat pump systems that comply with either the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) or the Energy Policy Act (EPACT), and use distributed refrigerant technology with cooling and heating capacities for outdoor units from 12,000 Btuh [3508 W] to 300,000 Btuh [87,692 W] and indoor units from 5,000 Btuh [1,462 W] to 60,000 Btuh [17,538 W]. Each indoor unit is designed to condition a single zone.

• Applies to variable refrigerant flow multi-split systems consisting of the following matched components: a) an outdoor unit with single or multiple compressors or variable capacity compressor or with a variable speed drive; b) indoor unit(s) that have a coil, air movement device intended for single zone air distribution, and a temperature sensing control; and c) a zone temperature control device.

• Covers VRF multi-split systems and heat recovery VRF multi-split systems covered in AHRI Standard 1230. Included are multi-split, matched system air conditioners and heat pumps irrespective of their type of electric power source, or secondary fluid (e.g., air-to-air or water-to-air).

There are currently five participants in the program: Carrier, Daikin, LG Electronics, Mitsubishi, and Sanyo. Testing will be conducted at Intertek’s testing facility in Plano, Texas. Performance data for certified products can be found in the AHRI Directory of Certified Product Performance (www.ahridirectory.org).

Manufacturers interested in joining the VRF certification program may contact Jon Lemmond, AHRI certification engineer, at jlemmond@ahrinet.org.

Publication date: 09/26/2011