Under the agreement, which still must be approved by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, the nonweatherized furnace standards would be vacated and remanded, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) would enter another round of notice-and-comment rulemaking this year, thus allowing all interested parties an opportunity to participate in the creation of a new minimum energy-conservation standard.
The settlement would not impact regional energy-efficiency regulations for central air conditioners, weatherized furnaces, and heat pumps, which will continue to follow the standards approved in the DOE’s direct final rule, and remain scheduled for a Jan. 1, 2015 implementation. In addition, standards for nonweatherized oil furnaces are not impacted by the settlement, and will become effective as scheduled, May 1, 2013.