ARLINGTON, Va. — The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) announced that its Controls Product Section will be divided into two new sections: Air Conditioning & Refrigeration (ACR) Electronic Controls and Gas Controls.
When the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) and the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association (GAMA) merged to form AHRI in 2008, sections from each association combined to form the Controls Product Section. While it encompassed all types of control products, in recent years, it has focused more on gas control issues. At the AHRI Spring Meeting, AHRI’s Board of Directors approved a plan to divide the section into two distinct sections.
“We constantly strive to meet the needs and interests of our members in the best way possible,” said Stephen Yurek, president and CEO of AHRI. “These new product sections will better represent all control equipment and give a voice to more manufacturers within our industry.”
The ACR Electronic Controls Section will encompass controllers and auxiliary control devices, which are primarily designed to aid in the unattended operation, energy efficiency, electric utility demand reduction, cloud connectivity, fault detection and diagnosis, cyber security, or safe operation of components of comfort conditioning equipment and commercial and industrial refrigeration equipment covered by AHRI’s other product sections. Devices must be responsive to at least one of the following conditions: time, temperature, pressure, humidity, fluid flow, air quality, current, voltage, power, demand reduction, or pricing signals.
The Gas Controls Section will encompass controls including components and accessories for use on gas-fired utilization equipment (including, but not limited to, combination gas controls, manual gas valves, gas appliance pressure regulators, automatic gas valves, automatic gas ignition systems, flame sensors, monitors and programmers, gas filters and sediment traps, thermostatic system components, automatic flue and vent dampers, oxygen depletion sensing devices, pressure sensors and switches, and line pressure regulators).
General-purpose motor starters and circuit breakers, all low-voltage thermostats, and component controllers and auxiliary controlling devices used in equipment not covered by the scopes of other AHRI sections are specifically excluded from both product sections.
Manufacturers interested in joining either section may contact Maryline Lamborn at mlamborn@ahrinet.org.
Publication date: 5/30/2016
Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!
