While the so-called fiscal cliff legislation affects the HVACR industry in a variety of ways, the most significant change may be the retroactive extension of the 25C Residential Energy-Efficiency Tax Credit, which expired Dec. 31, 2011. 

A 30-day mediation period has passed and the discussions have yet to yield a resolution, leaving the HVACR industry on hold regarding a decision on the pending regional energy-efficiency standards lawsuit.

More than 80 Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) members marched through the halls of the Senate and House of Representatives this spring, meeting with members of Congress on various HVACR-related issues. Leading the charge: Jon Melchi, HARDI’s director of government affairs.

Contractors, take note: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently stepping up its vigilance with new regulations and a new national safety campaign to prevent jobsite falls.

Barack Obama has been re-elected president, Republicans have retained control of the House of Representatives, and Democrats continue to rule the Senate. To naysayers, the election may have seemed like one big waste of energy; however, to energy-efficiency advocates, the election may help eliminate a great deal of energy waste.

A ruling to the pending regional standards lawsuit may be less than a month away. American Public Gas Association (APGA) executive vice president Dave Schryver confirmed that the lawsuit, APGA v. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has entered mediation and that an agreement between the two parties could occur very soon.

Energy-efficiency aficionados are heralding the Senate’s approval of a bill that includes measures they have been touting for years. On Sept. 22 — at 3 a.m. — the U.S. Senate unanimously approved H.R. 4850, the Enabling Energy Savings Innovations Act.

As Benjamin Franklin once famously said, “In life, nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Many business owners might argue that “regulations” could have been added to that quote as well, given the large number of new rules imposed each year by local, state, and federal governments.

According to the DOE, more than two-thirds of the fuel used to generate power in the United States is lost as excess heat. On Aug. 30, President Obama signed the executive order “Accelerating Industrial Energy Efficiency,” promoting and facilitating a reduction of wasted thermal energy through an investment in combined heat and power (CHP).