The biggest winners in this story are the distributors who continued to fight the DOE even though many — including yours truly — felt they should give up the fight.
As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wraps up the comment period for its final hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-22 allocation rule for 2015-2019, the industry leaders who have been pushing for a more aggressive approach to the phaseout are now left to wait and see what the EPA does.
We’ve all heard the phrase when hell freezes over. It’s probably one of the more overused statements in the English language. Recently, while trying to figure out a way to describe a recent meeting in Washington regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) rulemaking to govern the allocation of HCFC-22 (R-22) for the years 2015-2019, the phrase came to me as the only way to describe what I saw and heard.
The settlement agreement, which now awaits court approval, would vacate the regional furnace efficiency standards and also give the industry an 18-month sell-through period to comply with the Jan. 1, 2015, efficiency standards for split-system air conditioners.
While a previous court document identified March 3 as the last day for the expected filing of a settlement in the ongoing regional standards lawsuit, it appears the judicial system may need a few extra days.
There is growing concern that the DOE is placing undue regulatory burden on the HVAC industry — and especially on manufacturers — by regulating components of appliances that already meet energy-efficiency guidelines.