BOSTON — The Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) is considering changes to its specification on nonweatherized gas furnaces, and has requested comments from stakeholders, including the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). Comments are due by July 22.

The CEE proposal identifies three high efficiency furnace tiers, two of which are similar to the levels specified in version 4.0 of the Energy Star residential furnaces specification. The major differences between the CEE proposal and Energy Star specification are:

• The CEE proposal includes a third tier of 97 percent AFUE.

• The CEE tier levels apply to the entire nation, while the Energy Star levels are based on the U.S. North/Canada region and U.S. South region.

The CEE also proposes to adopt the electric fan efficiency metric in the Energy Star specification.

CEE is seeking feedback on the changes and whether the increase in its specification would interfere with the goal of promoting higher efficiency furnaces, and any other recommendations for ways to increase the efficiency of residential gas heating systems. The CEE’s final specification is expected to be released in October 2013.

For more information, visit www.cee1.org.

Publication date: 7/15/2013

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