ARLINGTON, Va. - William G. Sutton, president of the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), has announced that the trade association has withdrawn its challenge regarding the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) energy efficiency regulation affecting central air conditioners and heat pumps.
"Due to the likelihood of a long and uncertain legal process, ARI will no longer pursue litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia, so that manufacturers can prepare for a new 13 SEER national minimum efficiency standard for residential central air conditioners and heat pumps that will go into effect on Jan. 23, 2006," Sutton stated.