WASHINGTON — On Nov. 12, The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a pre-publication Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) regarding enforcement of the new regional energy conservation standards for split-system and single package central air conditioners.

The long-awaited announcement comes more than a year after the Regional Standards Enforcement Working Group submitted to DOE a negotiated plan of enforcement for the standards, which went into effect Jan. 1. Industry stakeholders will have 45 days after the NOPR is published in the Federal Register to submit comments, data, and information regarding the NOPR to DOE.

The Thursday release of the NOPR tentatively ends a one-year period of uncertainty for the HVACR industry, which has adapted to the new energy conservation standards without any enforcement guidance from DOE.

To view the rulemaking website for split-system and single package central air conditioners, visit http://bit.ly/RSEnforcement. To download the proposed rule, click here.