“AMCA is excited about the IECC now being published, as this will help accelerate the phaseout of the FEG metric in the United States until an anticipated federal fan-efficiency standard is in place,” said Michael Ivanovich, senior director, global affairs, Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA) International. “Harmonizing metrics is important to industry and to the commercial and industrial markets, as it reduces confusion and lowers the cost of code enforcement.”

The 2021 IECC requires that FEI ratings be third-party-certified. AMCA International, which formalized FEI in ANSI/AMCA Standard 208-18, “Calculation of the Fan Energy Index,” has been certifying FEI ratings since 2019. Currently, nearly 300 fan models are FEI-certified, mostly through AMCA certification of manufacturer sizing and selection software. AMCA-certified FEI ratings can be found at www.amca.org/find-FEI. ANSI/AMCA Standard 208-18 is available for download free of charge from AMCA’s online store at http://bit.ly/AMCA_208.

“AMCA is hoping states either adopt the 2021 IECC or, if adopting the 2018 edition, swap out the 2018 fan-efficiency section with the 2021 language to help phase out FEG,” Aaron Gunzner, advocacy manager, AMCA International, said. “AMCA has resources to help state energy offices consider such a change.”

For links to online training, white papers, and other FEI-related resources, visit AMCA International’s FEI microsite at www.amca.org/fei.

FEI previously replaced FEG in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1-2019, “Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.” Like that standard, the 2021 IECC increases the scope of the fan-efficiency provision by lowering the minimum size of covered fan systems from 5 HP to 1 HP and removing the exemption for powered roof ventilators. The 2021 IECC is available for purchase on the International Code Council website.