AHRI Submits Comments to Federal Trade Commission
Comments address final rules on EnergyGuide labels.
ARLINGTON, Va. — The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) recently submitted a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on final rules regarding EnergyGuide labels that were published in the Federal Register on Jan. 10 and Feb. 6.
In the letter, AHRI stated it believes that the AHRI Directory of Certified Product Performance can help manufacturers to comply with the FTC’s latest requirement (specifically §305.6 of the Jan. 10, 2013 final rule) to make copies of its EnergyGuide labels available online by July 15.
AHRI requested a written response from the FTC by April 10, confirming that its plan to make the EnergyGuide labels available on the directory will help manufacturers enrolled in AHRI’s certification programs comply with §305.6.
Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!
In addition, AHRI believes the FTC should eliminate the requirement to provide cooling and heating capacity information on labels as this information is unnecessary and could mislead the consumer in some instances.
In addition, AHRI stated that the FTC should continue to allow manufacturers the option of printing multiple basic-model numbers on their EnergyGuide labels, and should specify compliance dates for the EnergyGuide labels on residential boilers and oil-fired furnaces that are not affected by the regional furnace standards compliance date.
AHRI also submitted comments on the Department of Energy’s (DOE) framework document for the rulemaking on efficiency standards for residential boilers, which was initiated in February.
Looking for quick answers on air conditioning, heating and refrigeration topics? Try Ask ACHR NEWS, our new smart AI search tool. Ask ACHR NEWS
The comments noted a significant issue that AHRI believes DOE must address as soon as possible. Specifically, AHRI requested that the agency clarify whether this rulemaking will consider only performance standards, i.e., revised AFUE levels, or both revised performance standards and new design requirements. The comments also noted that DOE performed an analysis of residential boiler standards for the time period 2004-2006, and that much of the technical information from that prior analysis could be used for this rulemaking. The preliminary analysis for this rulemaking is projected to be available in November, with the notice of proposed rulemaking scheduled for July 2014.
Publication date: 4/22/2013
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
