WASHINGTON — In the year since the new regional energy conservation standards for split-system and single package central air conditioners took effect Jan. 1, 2015, the HVACR industry has adapted as best it can to the new energy conservation standards in the absence of any enforcement guidance from the DOE.

As he faced a banquet hall full of HVACR distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers and reps at the Liaison Capitol Hill DC, Jon Melchi, vice president of government affairs and business development for Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI), had a simple request for attendees of HARDI's 2015 Congressional Fly-In.

In February, U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, introduced a bill to the U.S. House of Representatives that would repeal the federal estate tax, which is the fourth highest estate tax in the world, according to the Tax Foundation.

On Jan. 1, new regional energy conservation standards took effect for split-system and single package central air conditioners sold and installed throughout the U.S.

To help its distributor members increase productivity and profitability, Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) recently introduced a new custom benchmarking software tool,  Distributor Performance Analytics, LLC (DPA). 

More than 90 individuals representing dozens of distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers, and manufacturer’s representatives recently gathered in Washington for the annual HARDI Congressional Fly-In event. 

 As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wraps up the comment period for its final hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-22 allocation rule for 2015-2019, the industry leaders who have been pushing for a more aggressive approach to the phaseout are now left to wait and see what the EPA does.  

After causing years of uncertainty and economic hardship for the HVAC industry, the regional standards lawsuit appears to finally be resolved.