ARLINGTON, Va. - The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) have approved a new cooperative agreement for standards development that reinforces their long-running alliance.

Preserved and formalized in the agreement is one of the tenets of the ASHRAE-ARI relationship - that ASHRAE develops method of testing standards that describe how to perform product testing, while ARI develops rating standards that specify rating conditions and details on how to rate performance of products using those tests.

The agreement makes clear that where there is a published ARI rating standard, the ARI rating standard is the appropriate place for inclusion of the product performance rating conditions. Likewise, where there is a published ASHRAE method of testing standard, the ASHRAE standard is the appropriate place for inclusion of the method of testing details.

Further, to address both future and all existing standards, the agreement stipulates the mechanism for moving method of testing standards from ARI to ASHRAE and for moving rating conditions from ASHRAE to ARI standards.

"This agreement clarifies, for ASHRAE and ARI members, the respective roles of each organization in standards development," said Mark Menzer, ARI's vice president of Engineering and Research. "Each organization will recognize the other's area of competence, communicate to establish whether the other wishes to participate, and cooperate so as to avoid conflict or overlap between standards."

"This agreement is part of ASHRAE's continuing efforts to improve our standards development process and our relationship with ARI," said Lee Burgett, P.E., ASHRAE's president. "The agreement allows ARI and ASHRAE to determine responsibilities for and streamline development of standards to best draw upon the expertise of our members."

Currently, nearly 50 ARI rating standards reference and require the use of corresponding ASHRAE method of testing standards with a number of others currently under development at ASHRAE and ARI.

For more information on ARI, visit www.ari.org. For more information on ASHRAE, visit www.ashrae.org.

Publication date: 11/21/2005