The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has referred the Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) motion to continue the regional standards lawsuit to a merits panel for further review.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled favorably today on an emergency motion filed by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) requesting a stay of the May 1, 2013, compliance date for the implementation of regional furnace standards. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a statement noting that, pending resolution of the ongoing regional efficiency standards litigation, it will not enforce its new rules regarding EnergyGuide labels for residential gas furnaces.

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.

As of now, the sole mode of enforcement for the pending regional energy efficiency standards will come in the form of a new-look Energy Guide sticker. While DOE may ultimately move forward with another enforcement proposal, the only one being put into motion at this time is an alteration to the FTC’s Energy Guide labels.

Ah, the United States government. It does not matter how good the idea originally is, they will find a way to confuse and ruin it. The regional standards established by the Department of Energy (DOE) that are set to go into effect May 1, 2013, is one such instance.

Members of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) recently visited Washington, D.C., to share their thoughts and concerns with legislators through AHRI’s annual Public Policy Symposium.