The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced nearly $16 million in funding to help businesses move promising energy technologies from the DOE’s National Laboratories to the marketplace. 

The effective date of this rule is Aug. 15.

The most commonly heard three-letter term in the ice machine business used to be “ice.” Now, it has been joined by “EPA” and “DOE,” which both are garnering as much attention as the actual end products.

In addition to the final determination stating that the DOE will now regulate portable air conditioners, the agency also issued new rules for test procedures for portable air conditioners and is currently developing energy conservation standards for these units.

The Circulator Pumps Working Group is an offshoot of the Commercial/Industrial Pumps Working Group, which convened two years ago to set standards on larger pumps.

Stalknecht noted the quote as a way to introduce quality installations as a viable solution to the problem. He also pointed out that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a study in 2014 that examined energy penalties due to poor installations in residential HVAC units. 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will also host a public meeting Wednesday, July 20, in Washington, District of Columbia.