WILLIAMSTON, Mich. — ACCA and the Michigan Air Conditioning Contractors of America (MIACCA) sent a letter on Nov. 8 to Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan urging the state to promote proper HVAC installations and create incentive programs for hiring contractors who follow industry-recognized standards to reduce power demand.

The state of Michigan has been working to comply with federal climate standards, including coal plant retirements. However, according to recent modeling commissioned by state agencies, these changes mean the state may not be able to generate enough power to meet its needs in the future. To help increase energy efficiency, while maintaining necessary power levels, ACCA and MIACCA urged Gov. Snyder to consider the largest residential consumer of energy: home HVAC systems.

According to a recent study from the National Institute of Standards and Installation (NIST), poor residential HVAC installation practices can lead to a dramatic increase in energy usage, no matter how efficient a particular manufactured system may be rated. Fortunately, there are ways to improve HVAC installations and reduce energy use through contractor education and consumer incentive programs, and both organizations offered to work with policy makers on an appropriate solution.

“Working on the state level to improve energy efficiency through proper installations that follow ACCA’s Quality Installation Specification is key to the entire country being more energy efficient,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, president and CEO, ACCA. “I am hopeful that other states will work with the HVAC industry to help address problems caused by poor HVAC installation procedures.”

“HVAC contractors can have a huge impact on reducing the energy demand in the state of Michigan,” said Brindley Byrd, executive director, MIACCA. “Partnering with ACCA to encourage our governor to promote proper installations will strengthen our position. While we cannot fix all of the energy problems in our state, we can be leaders in the effort that will help all of our citizens.”

Publication date: 12/26/2016

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