ARLINGTON, Va. - The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regarding proposed revisions to the Department’s energy efficiency enforcement regulations. In its comments, AHRI supported continuation of third-party submission of certification reports, recommended that DOE focus its enforcement attention on products for which there are no third-party Voluntary Industry Certification Program (VICP), and recommended that recertification only be required when the energy efficiency or energy consumption of a basic model increases or decreases by more than 5 percent.

However, in those comments, AHRI opposed DOE’s proposal for a new annual certification reporting requirement on the grounds that it would be redundant, as AHRI submits regular certification reports to the Department already, and the association said an annual report would contain no new or different information. AHRI also opposed a proposed requirement for a unified model numbering system, believing it to be unwarranted and outside of DOE’s authority.

Publication date:06/28/2010