New ENERGY STAR efficiency standards are going into effect in the coming year. As of Jan. 1, 2023, newly manufactured residential and commercial HVAC equipment will be required to meet these new standards, as outlined by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The point of the new regulations is to kick current HVAC energy efficiency up a notch, reduce emissions and ultimately help the planet. The new criteria will result in better HVAC units and even spark innovation. Everybody wants that, right? Yes, but the changes are significant, and as an HVAC contractor, you need to be on top of them.
What does it mean for Midwest HVAC contractors? Our good friends at Ruud have compiled some great information to help you make sense of the new standards.
The standards apply to newly manufactured residential and commercial HVAC equipment sold in the U.S. Here's what else you need to know.
New testing, new terminology
Currently, our test method is known as Appendix M in the Code of Federal Regulations. The new method is known as Appendix M1. The metrics HVAC has used for years have been SEER, EER and HSPF. Those terms are changing to SEER2, EER2 and HSPF2. Not a monumental change in terminology, but an important one, signaling a new method.
The new test procedure applies to all single-phase air conditioners and heat pumps
The large commercial difference
For commercial systems that are greater than 65k BTU/HR, it's a little trickier. The new standards are going into effect on the same day, Jan. 1, 2023, with one important difference. Compliance is based on the date of manufacture.
The regional difference
When you're talking about government regulations, nothing is ever simple, right? That applies here, too. The standards apply nationally. Except when they don't. For single-phase residential and light commercial central air conditioning units, those standards vary by the region of the country you're in. They key difference: Nationally, the standards apply to equipment on the basis of date of manufacture. In certain regions, it's about the date of installation. And it varies by region.
Midwest specifics
For our friends and colleagues in the Southwest and Southeast regions, the standards are different. For our Goodin customers and friends here in the Midwest and North regions, here are the specifics:
Compliance in our region follows the national standards, in that it is based on date of manufacture. Here's another way to look at it. If a product was compliant on the day it was manufactured, it's "grandfathered in." You can sell and install it anywhere in our region, which runs from Washington and Oregon to Maine along the northern border of the region and from Utah across the country to West Virginia on the southern edge of our region. That includes all the areas where Goodin Company has branches. It means you don't have to worry about existing inventory not meeting the new compliance rules as of Jan. 1.
For more information about the new ENERGY STAR standards and what they mean to you, visit Ruud's helpful site. And give us a call at Goodin Company or contact your local branch. We'll make sure you get the compliant equipment that you can trust.
