In a letter to the Department of Energy (DOE), the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) has requested an 18-month extension of the May 1, 2013 effective date for new regional efficiency standards for residential non-weatherized gas furnaces.

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) formally petitioned the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), requesting an 18-month extension for residential non-weatherized gas furnaces from the proposed May 1, 2013 implementation date set for the amended federal minimum efficiency standards.

A proposed settlement in the regional energy-efficiency standards lawsuit would exempt nonweatherized gas furnaces from the law, thus eliminating a May 1, 2013 requirement that would mandate 90-percent AFUE furnaces in the North, and 80-percent AFUE furnaces in the Southeast and Southwest.

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The complex regulatory landscape that HVAC contractors must navigate is always shifting — and it received another jolt last month when news broke that the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) regional appliance standards for furnaces were potentially changing.

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) announced that it has submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requesting a delay of the compliance date for the regional efficiency standards to be applied to gas furnaces, and also the filing for a stay of the compliance date with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) officially filed a motion for a stay with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals requesting a delay of the May 1 compliance date for regional efficiency standards.

In March, the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) filed a motion for a stay with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in the regional efficiency standards lawsuit to delay the May 1 compliance date for gas furnace standards. Since that time, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has filed a response and AHRI has replied.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has today issued an enforcement policy statement regarding non-weatherized gas furnace standards while the regional standards lawsuit is still pending, indicating that DOE will not enforce the standards.

A rule requiring all nonweatherized gas furnaces in the northern region adhere to a minimum 90 percent AFUE standard beginning May 1 will not be immediately enforced. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) declared that enforcement of the rule will not be pursued until the U.S. Court of Appeals rules on a pending lawsuit settlement agreement.