WASHINGTON - Air conditioner manufacturers and energy efficiency advocates have reached an agreement on a consensus federal efficiency standard for air conditioners and heat pumps used in commercial buildings.

The current federal standard was established by Congress in 1992 and calls for the most common types of equipment to have an energy efficiency ratio (EER) of 8.9. Under the agreement, the standard for the most common units will raise to 11.2 EER as of Jan. 1, 2010, a 26-percent improvement in efficiency. In addition, the agreement calls for extending the federal standards program to large package commercial air conditioners and heat pumps (up to 760,000-Btuh cooling capacity).