One of the biggest problems in the HVAC industry is that heating and cooling equipment is often improperly designed and/or installed, which means that systems may not deliver the efficiency and comfort that end users expect to receive. Indeed, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that up to 30% of an HVAC system’s efficiency can be lost if it is improperly designed and installed.

To help alleviate these issues, two very different standards have recently been introduced that offer HVAC professionals the ability to demonstrate the performance of the systems they install. The first is ANSI/RESNET/ACCA/ICC 310-2020 Standard for Grading the Installation of HVAC Systems, and the second is ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 221-2020, Test Method to Field-Measure and Score the Cooling and Heating Performance of an Installed Unitary HVAC System. Both standards are designed to be user-friendly tools that can help HVAC professionals ensure their customers receive the comfort and efficiency they paid for when they purchased their HVAC system.