Carrier Corp. recently filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), formalizing a request to reclassify a residential condensing unit as a subsystem of a system to extend the manufacturing prohibition to dry R-22 condensing units. The petition urges EPA to reconsider its current position and to issue a new rulemaking.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has published a final rule establishing federal test procedures for walk-in coolers and freezers. In the rule, DOE adopted by reference Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) Standard 1250 (I–P)–2009, ‘‘Standard for Performance Rating of Walk-In Coolers and Freezers.”
The “Implementation of National Consensus Appliance Agreements Act of 2011” (S. 398) bill, recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, would enact into law several consensus agreements that would set new federal efficiency standards for residential furnaces in two regions, for central air conditioners in three regions, and for central heat pumps in one, national region.
Zoning systems can be beneficial to both homeowners and the HVAC contractors who install them. However, their complexity can sometimes lead to confusion, and perhaps avoidance among contractors. A new standard developed by the Air Conditioning Contractors of America aims to help with zoning design to improve the installation and operation of zoned systems.
In March 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law. Now, the health care law is beginning to be implemented although it is facing challenges in the court and in Congress. The NEWS asked HVAC contractors if the law has started to affect their businesses, and how they anticipate it will affect the coverage and benefits they offer in the future.
The goal of the Energy Star for New Homes program has been to help homebuyers identify homes that are significantly more energy efficient than typical homes in the marketplace. As code requirements have become more rigorous over the years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has responded by modifying the Energy Star guidelines periodically.
A bill in the Senate aims to update the efficiency standards of appliances and building systems, including furnaces, heat pumps, and central air conditioners. Titled the “Implementation of National Consensus Appliance Agreements Act of 2011,” it divides the nation into three regions with different efficiency standards for each. It also recommends more stringent building codes for new construction.
On Jan. 28, the Building Performance Institute (BPI) released a proposed new standard (BSR/BPI 101-201x, Home Energy Auditing Standard) for public comment. The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) reviewed BPI’s proposed standard and believes that a number of significant flaws need to be addressed and a number of passages need to be improved.
Three years ago, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) set out to achieve new efficiency goals for Standard 90.1. The association announced at its 2011 winter conference in January that it had been successful. It now attains site energy savings of 32.6 percent and energy cost savings of 30.1 percent without plug loads.
Many contractors are asking what happened to Home Star, the proposed legislation that would have extended rebates to homeowners who invested in energy efficiency upgrades for their homes. While the bill was a hot topic for much of 2010, it ultimately failed to pass in the Senate, and has not been reintroduced in Congress so far in 2011.
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