The DOE released a final ruling on its Energy Conservation
Program for Certain Industrial Equipment: Energy Conservation Standards and
Test Procedures for Commercial Heating, Air Conditioning, and Water Heating
Equipment. What does it amend?
WASHINGTON
- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a final ruling on its Energy
Conservation Program for Certain Industrial Equipment: Energy Conservation
Standards and Test Procedures for Commercial Heating, Air Conditioning, and
Water Heating Equipment.
The final rule adopts the amended energy
efficiency standards in American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and
Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1-2010 for: small, large, and
very large water-cooled and evaporatively cooled commercial package air
conditioners; variable refrigerant flow water-source heat pumps less than
17,000 Btuh and 135,000 Btuh or greater; and computer room air
conditioners.
The final rule also revises the federal
efficiency test procedures to incorporate by reference the following:
Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) 210/240 - 2008
with Addenda 1 and 2, (small commercial package air conditioning and heating
equipment); AHRI 340/360 - 2007 with Addenda 1 and 2 (large and very large
commercial package air conditioning and heating equipment); UL 727 - 2006
(commercial warm-air oil furnaces); ANSI Z21.47 - 2006 (commercial warm-air gas
furnaces); and ANSI Z21.10.3 - 2011 (commercial water heaters). It also adopts
the following industry test procedures: AHRI 1230 - 2012 and Addendum 1
(variable refrigerant flow air conditioners and heat pumps); ASHRAE 127 - 2007
(computer room air conditioners); and AHRI 390 - 2003 (single package vertical
air conditioners and single package vertical heat pumps).
With two exceptions, the revisions or new
procedures for testing are effective 360 days after being published in the
DOE's Federal Register publication. This final ruling was published in the
Federal Register on May 16 and will become effective in May 2013. In the cases
of variable-refrigerant flow water-source heat pumps less than 17,000 Btuh, and
computer room air conditioners less than 65,000 Btuh, the test procedure change
is effective on Oct. 29, 2012, which also is the effective date of the
respective efficiency requirements for those products. All representations of
energy efficiency or energy use for the products covered by those revised or
new test procedures made on or after the effective date must be based on
testing to the revised or new test procedure.
AHRI has published a table that displays
effective dates for the revised or new test procedures, and the revised minimum
efficiency standards in the final rule, available at http://bit.ly/LqMVYf. To
view the comprehensive AHRI newsletter update on the topic, visit
http://bit.ly/K5MXmM.
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