Over 500 contractors, OEMs, and facility managers registered to attend this one hour online presentation. Over 90% of attendees rated the webinar as good or excellent and said the content provided a great understanding of how different types of compressors work.
There are a few updates to Tax Credits and Incentives in 2015. The reinstated 2012 HVAC tax credits (25C) for certain equipment is now expired as of 12/31/2014. However, there are a few new incentives that homeowners should be aware of.
The Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) and Energy Star have issued new guidelines for Efficiency Tiers for residential single phase air conditioner and heat pump equipment to better align with the Department of Energy’s new regional standards that went into effect in Jan. 2015.
The breadth of electronics and other controls being displayed was astounding. I expected the majority of the show to be the traditional duct work, compressor, and system level components.
The air conditioning and heat pump efficiency regulations that went into effect on January 1, 2015 will only affect new equipment, including both the indoor and outdoor units. General repairs to an existing system should not be affected unless the whole indoor or outdoor units are replaced. For example, the cost of replacing a part or general maintenance costs should not be affected.
There are three key questions to ask when considering installing a 13 SEER unit. Which region you are in? When was the 13 SEER system built? Was it a heat pump or straight AC?
The new efficiency standards going into effect on 1/1/15 do not really address any questions about refrigerants directly. However, we believe the new regulations will have some indirect effects on demand for R22 dry charge systems since almost all of the dry charge units today are 13 SEER and there will be restrictions on where 13 SEER can be used after the regulations change.
The minimum allowable energy efficiency for residential air conditioners is changing on Jan. 1, 2015, as discussed in our last update on this topic. The Department of Energy (DOE) periodically increases energy efficiency standards as technology evolves and higher efficiency systems become more affordable.
As part of the final determination as to how the new air conditioning efficiency standards will be enforced, the Department of Energy-appointed “Regional Standards Enforcement Working Group” has made their recommendation on an enforcement plan for the new regional efficiency standards.
