A group of HVAC market equipment makers is asking the U.S. government to suspend its rulemaking for commercial boilers until it follows its own procedures.

The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute sent a letter to the U.S. Energy Department April 1 saying the government is not following the rules governing how regulations are written and amended.

Frank Stanonik, the AHRI’s chief technical adviser, said the government is accepting comments on its proposed rulemaking for commercial boilers while it is also soliciting comments on the test procedures for the equipment.

Stanonik said that the Energy Department’s guidelines say final test procedures should be published prior to proposed rules, which he said did not happen.

"Final modified test procedures will be issued prior to the NOPR on proposed standards," which clearly did not occur in this case.

“Proceeding with the standard rule making prior to finalization of the test procedure creates confusion for stakeholders and an inability to effectively comment on the standard rule making,” Stanonik said in the letter. "If stakeholders and DOE do not know the exact procedure for testing equipment to determine compliance with the standard, how can they adequately comment on and evaluate the impact of the efficiency standard?"