A group of HVAC equipment makers is asking the U.S. government to suspend its rule making for commercial boilers until it follows its own procedures. 

The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute recently sent a letter to the U.S. Energy Department, saying the government is not following the rules governing how regulations are written and amended.

Frank Stanonik, the AHRI’s chief technical adviser, said the government is accepting comments on its proposed rule making for commercial boilers while it is also soliciting comments on the test procedures for the equipment.

Stanonik said that the Energy Department’s guidelines say final test procedures should be published prior to proposed rules, which he said did not happen.

“Proceeding with the standard rule making prior to finalization of the test procedure creates confusion for stakeholders and an inability to effectively comment on the standard rule making,” Stanonik said in the letter. “If stakeholders and DOE (Department of Energy) do not know the exact procedure for testing equipment to determine compliance with the standard, how can they adequately comment on and evaluate the impact of the efficiency standard?”