U.S. Department Of Energy Rules Finalized For Rating Commercial Systems

Posted by Heidi Schwartz

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has finalized new methods for rating and certifying commercial air conditioning, heating, water heating, and refrigeration equipment. The negotiated rule, which DOE published on December 31, 2013, was developed by the first working group convened by DOE’s Appliance Standards Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (ASRAC). us_department_of_energy_logo

“DOE’s energy efficiency standards for commercial HVAC, water heating and refrigeration products promise significant energy savings,” said Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP). “By accepting the consensus rule developed by the multi-stakeholder working group, DOE now has the tools to implement these important, energy-saving standards fairly and cost-effectively.”

DOE accepted the working group’s recommendations covering the use of alternative energy determination methods (AEDMs). These methods employ computer modeling or mathematical tools to forecast the rated energy performance of products, which eliminates the need to perform costly laboratory tests for each product sold. Used as prescribed by the negotiated rule, AEDMs can accurately predict the rated energy usage of products covered under federal energy efficiency requirements.