He acknowledges the proposed compliance requirements are not feasible and would cause considerable harm, result in economic job losses, and may increase — not decrease — risks to the American public. Whitfield said this opinion was the consensus of the most affected industries, including the air conditioning and refrigeration sectors.

The legislation, which many are calling symbolic, represents a victory and a large step in the right direction for both Congress and energy-efficiency advocates across the nation.

In industrial countries, production and consumption of HFCs should reach 15 percent of their 2013-2015 reference levels by 2035, stated the proposal. Developing countries would have until 2050 to reach the 15 percent level of their 2028-2030 use and consumption reference levels.

AHRI and ACCA created a brief survey of U.S. HVAC contractors to determine the actual cost of complying with the recently proposed nationwide 92 percent AFUE standard for residential gas furnaces. 

This course explores how to obtain significant energy savings and obtain USGBC LEED credits by following the new, more stringent requirements of Standard 90.1-2013 and Appendix G rules and procedures. 

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed S. 535, the Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2015, sponsored by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire. The two senators have been attempting to get an energy efficiency bill passed since 2011. This is a no-cost, no-mandate bill, previously passed by the Senate on March 27, 2015.

For small business owners, including many in the HVACR industry, repealing the estate tax — or “death tax,” as it is also called — could have a significant positive impact on those who hope to pass their family businesses onto their descendants.

As buildings are constructed to be tighter and more efficient than ever before, mechanical ventilation has become increasingly important in order to maintain a healthy and comfortable indoor environment. Further affecting the ventilation market are increasingly stringent standards and codes, which are influencing both commercial and residential projects across the country.

The bill codifies and strengthens a 2005 executive order that prohibits government entities from requiring contractors to enter into project labor agreements as a condition of performing work on publicly funded construction projects.