ATTENTION: This site is no longer being maintained. Please find the latest Appliance Standards information at the following site: https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/standards-and-test-procedures

Important Note: The content on this page is archived and is no longer actively maintained.
Please visit the new product standard page for the latest information.

Enforcement of Regional Standards for Residential Furnaces, Central Air Conditioners, and Heat Pumps

Sign up for e-mail updates on regulations for this and other products

The Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated a rulemaking to consider possible approaches to enforcing regional standards for residential furnaces and residential central air conditioners and heat pumps set forth by direct final rule. 76 FR 37408 (June 27, 2011). DOE issued a framework document that presented three approaches, and stated that it was considering each of these approaches, a combination of elements in these approaches, or alternatives in response to comments from interested parties.

Recent Updates

DOE has published Federal Register notice proposed rulemaking regarding regional standards enforcement for central air conditioners and heat pumps. 80 FR 72373 (November 19, 2015)

Public Meeting Information

There are no public meetings scheduled at this time.

Submitting Public Comments

The comment period closes January 4, 2016.

Any comments submitted must identify the NOPR for Enforcement of Regional Standards for Central Air Conditioners and provide docket number EERE-2011-BT-CE-0077 and/or regulatory information number (RIN) 1904-AC68. Comments may be submitted using any of the following methods:

1. Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

2. E-mail: EnforcementFunCAC-2011-CE-0077@EE.Doe.Gov Include the docket number and/or RIN in the subject line of the message.

3. Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office, Mailstop EE-5B, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, 20585-0121. If possible, please submit all items on a CD. It is not necessary to include printed copies.

4. Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office, 950 L’Enfant Plaza, SW., Suite 600, Washington, DC, 20024. Telephone: (202) 586-2945. If possible, please submit all items on a CD. It is not necessary to include printed copies.

Milestones and Documents

The Enforcement of Regional Standards for Residential Furnaces and Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps rulemaking docket EERE-2011-BT-CE-0077 contains all notices, public comments, public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents. For the latest information on the planned timing of future DOE regulatory milestones, see the current Office of Management and Budget Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. All planned dates are preliminary and subject to change.

Notice of Data Availability	Notice of Data Availability, Federal Register, 76 FR 76328 (December 7, 2011) Optimized PDF of notice Framework Document Public Meeting 12/16/2011 Public Meeting Presentation Public Meeting Transcript Comment deadline: closed
Notice of Intent	Notice of Intent, Federal Register, 79 FR 33870 (June 13, 2014) Comment deadline: closed
Notice of Membership	Notice of Memberhsip, Federal Register, 79 FR 41456 (July 16, 2014)
Notice of Public Meeting Notice of Proposed Rulemaking	Notice of Open Teleconference/Webinar, Federal Register, 79 FR 65909 (November 5, 2014) Open Teleconference/Webinar Transcript Notice of Public Meeting, Federal Register, 79 FR 63339 (October 23, 2014) Notice of Public Meetings, Federal Register, 79 FR 50856 (August 26, 2014) Notice of Public Meeting, Federal Register, 79 FR 45731 (August 6, 2014) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Federal Register, 80 FR 72373 (November 19, 2015) Comment Deadline: January 4, 2016

Related Rulemakings

There are no related rulemakings.

Statutory Authority

The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 modified the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to authorize DOE to consider regional standards for certain products if the regional standards can save significantly more energy than a national standard and are economically justified. Specifically, DOE was authorized to establish up to two additional regional standards for central air conditioners and heat pumps and one additional standard for furnaces in addition to national standards. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(6)(B)(ii))

EISA 2007 requires DOE to initiate an enforcement rulemaking not later than 90 days after the issuance of a final rule that establishes a regional standard. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(6)(G)(ii)(I)) EISA 2007also requires that a final rule for enforcement be issued not later than 15 months after the final rule that establishes a regional standard. (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(6)(G)(ii)(III))

Contact Information

For more information related to this rulemaking, please email:

certification_compliance_enforcement@ee.doe.gov