Central Air Conditioner and Heat Pump Rulemaking
 

The U.S. Department of Energy published a Final Rule (PDF 566 KB) on January 22, 2001, which amends the existing energy conservation standards for central air conditioners and heat pumps. The regulation, which becomes effective January 23, 2006, raises the SEER value by 30 percent to 13 SEER. DOE had promulgated a 12 SEER standard in 2002 (PDF 383 KB), but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the Department had done so improperly. See the Press Release.

A technical amendment to incorporate the SEER and HSPF standards for all classes of air conditioners was published on August 17, 2004 (PDF 80 KB).

Some of the following documents are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs. Download Acrobat Reader.
Workshop Material

Central Air Conditioner Test Procedure Public Workshop: A Technical Discussion on New Defaults for CCD ！ (PowerPoint 1.31 MB)
[NOTE: If you are using Internet Explorer 5.0 or above this link will open the presentation in the slide show format. If you are using Netscape choose the "Open" option after clicking on the link then hit "F5" to view the slide show once the application has opened.]

Draft Agenda

Draft Residential Central Air Conditioner, Small Duct, High Velocity (SDHV) Systems Standards Rulemaking: Engineering Analysis (PDF 751 KB)

Draft Residential Central Air Conditioner, Small Duct, High Velocity (SDHV) Systems Standards Rulemaking: Calculator (MS Excel 1.4 MB) ！ These spreadsheets show how DOE generated cost-efficiency curves for SDHV systems. Introduction on sheet one.

Draft Residential Central Air Conditioner, Small Duct, High Velocity (SDHV) Systems Standards Rulemaking: Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Analysis (PDF 214 KB)

Draft Residential Central Air Conditioner, Small Duct, High Velocity (SDHV) Systems Standards Rulemaking: Life Cycle Cost (LCC) Spreadsheet (MS Excel 1.5 MB) ！ LCC spreadsheets perform calculations to determine LCC and payback periods. The LCC spreadsheets operate in Excel 2000; includes LCC (Sample Calc) sheet and LCC (Simulation) sheet with Excel add-on Crystal Ball.

Draft Residential Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps Test Procedure: Background Briefing Materials () ！ What parts of the DOE AC&HP Test Procedure and related CFR Sections should be (re-)evaluated as part of a limited-scope proposed rulemaking? Issues for comment include: cyclic degradation coefficient default, testing options, alternative rating methods, etc.

Small Duct, High Velocity (SDHV) System Standards and Residential Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps Test Procedure: Presentation Slides () ！ These slides will be presented at the December 13, 2002, public workshop.
Federal Register Documents

Final Rule, Finding of No Significant Impact, Notice: Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps Energy Conservation Standards, Federal Register, January 22, 2001 ()

Final Rule: Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products; Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps Energy Conservation Standards, Federal Register, May 23, 2002 ()

Finding of No Significant Impact for Amended Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps, Federal Register, May 23, 2002 ()