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 regional standards, which DOE had approved in late 2011, were set to take effect this May for the Northern region of the country, establishing 90 percent AFUE minimum-efficiency standards for nonweatherized furnaces. However, the American Public Gas Association (APGA) filed suit against DOE in January 2012 to contest the standards, and other industry associations including the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) and Heating, Air-conditioning, and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) intervened in the case on APGA’s behalf.