The change comes as the industry anticipates accelerated adoption of CO2 refrigeration technology being driven by food retail businesses pledging sustainability targets and needing to comply with environmental regulations.
Court filings by Associated Builders and Contractors and its Southeast Texas chapter, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, were announced Nov. 7.
The latest rule will require every mobile home gas furnace — and every new residential, non-weatherized gas furnace — to have a minimum annual fuel utilization efficiency (or AFUE) of 95% starting in late 2028.
Manufacturers will have five years, from the date the rule is published in the Federal Register, to ensure that new gas furnaces comply with the new minimum.
The Inflation Reduction Act’s major incentive for the installation of a qualified geothermal system is a 30% federal clean energy credit, which can be used at filing time to offset taxes owed or add to any refund.
The award will fund the Energy Code Official - Training & Education Collaborative, which will increase energy code enforcement activities through training designed for building energy code officials.
Manufacturers are offering low-GWP refrigerant alternatives, as EPA is proposing a 700 GWP limit for most new comfort cooling chillers starting in 2025.
As an industry, we have rolled with efficiency changes in the past, even when the bureaucrats making the rules lack an understanding of the impact simple things like warehousing, transportation, and installations have on the industry. Or maybe they do not care.
Future Fuels Symposium 2023 on Fossil Fuel Alternatives will discuss the benefits of hydrogen blends and bio-fuels and related solutions, including a new low nitrogen oxides (NOx) technology and UL-approved burners capable of firing hydrogen blends designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.