Air-Cooled Unitary Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps
As defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), small, large, and very large commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps are air-cooled, water-cooled, evaporatively-cooled, or water source unitary air conditioners and heat pumps that are used for space conditioning of commercial and industrial buildings. 10 CFR 431.92. Manufacturers have been required to comply with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy conservation standards for small, large, and very large commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps since 1992.
Current Standard | Current Test Procedure |
Ongoing Rulemaking for Standards | Ongoing Rulemaking for Test Procedure |
Helpful Links
Recent and Ongoing Activities
DOE has published a Federal Register notice of Direct Final Rule (DFR) pertaining to energy conservation standards for air-cooled commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps with a rated cooling capacity greater than or equal to 65,000 Btu/h. In this direct final rule, DOE is adopting amended standards, based on clear and convincing evidence, for air-cooled commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps with a rated cooling capacity greater than or equal to 65,000 Btu/h, which it has determined satisfy the relevant statutory criteria.
- The effective date of this rule is September 17, 2024, unless adverse comment is received by September 9, 2024.
- If adverse comments are received that DOE determines may provide a reasonable basis for withdrawal of the direct final rule, a timely withdrawal of this rule will be published in the Federal Register . If no such adverse comments are received, compliance with the amended standards established for air-cooled commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps with a rated cooling capacity greater than or equal to 65,000 Btu/h in this direct final rule is required on and after January 1, 2029.
- Interested persons may submit comments identified by docket number (EERE–2022–BT–STD-0015) by email (CommPkgACHP2022STDandTP0015@ee.doe.gov), Federal eRulemaking portal (https://www.regulations.gov).
DOE has also published a Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) that proposes amended standards for CUAC/CUHPs identical to those set forth in the direct final rule. If DOE receives adverse comment and determines that such comment may provide a reasonable basis for withdrawal of the direct final rule, DOE will publish a notice of withdrawal and will proceed with this proposed rule.
DOE has published a Federal Register Final Rule pertaining to test procedures for Air-Cooled, Evaporatively- Cooled, and Water-Cooled Commercial Package Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps. DOE is amending the test procedures for equipment with a rated cooling capacity greater than or equal to 65,000 Btu/h, evaporatively-cooled commercial package air conditioners, and water-cooled commercial package air conditioners to incorporate by reference the latest versions of the applicable industry test standards. Specifically, DOE is amending the current test procedure for this equipment for measuring the current cooling and heating metrics—integrated energy efficiency ratio (IEER) and coefficient of performance (COP), respectively; and establishing a new test procedure for this equipment that adopts two new metrics—integrated ventilation, economizer, and cooling (IVEC) and integrated ventilation and heating efficiency (IVHE). Testing to the IVEC and IVHE metrics will not be required until such time as compliance is required with any amended energy conservation standard based on the new metrics. Additionally, DOE is amending certain provisions of DOE’s regulations related to representations and enforcement for the subject equipment.
- The effective date of this rule is August 5, 2024
- The amendments will be mandatory for testing the subject equipment starting May 15, 2025.
- The incorporation by reference of certain material listed in this rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register August 5, 2024. The incorporation by reference of certain other materials listed in this rule were approved by the Director of the Federal Register as of January 22, 2016.
On August 2, 2022 DOE published a notice of intent to establish a working group for Commercial Unitary Air Conditioner and Commercial Unitary Heat Pumps to negotiate a notice of proposed rulemaking for test procedures and energy conservation standards. Information regarding the CUAC and CUHP working group is located on the working group webpage. The commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps energy conservation standards and test procedures rulemaking docket EERE-2022-BT-STD-0015 contains all notices, public comments, working group and public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents pertaining to this rulemaking.
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.
Standards
Direct Final Rule |
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Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
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Final Rule |
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Request for Information |
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Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
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Notification of Data Availability
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- Federal Register, 85FR60642 (September 25, 2021)
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Request for Information; Reopening of the Public Comment Period
Request for information; Air-Cooled Commercial Package Air Conditioning and Heating Equipment and Commercial Warm Air Furnaces
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The small air-cooled commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps energy conservation standard rulemaking docket EERE-2022-BT-STD-0008 contains all notices, public comments, public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents pertaining to this rulemaking.
Public Meeting Information:
There is no public meeting scheduled at this time.
Submitting Public Comments
Test Procedure
Final Rule |
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Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
- Federal Register, 88FR56392 (August 17, 2023)
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The commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps test procedure rulemaking docket EERE-2022-BT-STD-0015 contains all notices, public comments, public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents pertaining to this rulemaking.
Public Meeting Information
There is no public meeting scheduled at this time.
Submitting Public Comments
Current Standard
Air-cooled unitary air-conditioners and heat pumps manufactured and distributed in commerce, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 6291(16), must meet the energy conservation standards specified in the Code of Federal Regulations at 10 CFR 431.97.
To determine that air-cooled unitary air-conditioners and heat pumps that are currently manufactured or distributed into commerce are in compliance with DOE standards, manufacturers must follow the test procedure methods specified at 10 CFR 431.96.
Helpful Links
Compliance
DOE has established regulations on certification, compliance, and enforcement in the CFR at 10 CFR Part 429. These regulations cover statistical sampling plans, certified ratings, certification reports, record retention, and enforcement. More information on these regulations is available here.
Waivers
For information on current test procedure waivers, see DOE’s Waivers webpage.
For information about obtaining test procedure waivers, see 10 CFR part 431, subpart V.
Exceptions
DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals has not authorized exception relief for air-cooled unitary air-conditioners and heat pumps.
For information about obtaining exception relief, see 10 CFR part 1003.
Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions
For information on further guidance and answers to Frequently Asked Questions on all covered products, see DOE’s Further Guidance database.
State Exemptions to Federal Pre-emption
DOE has not exempted any state from this energy conservation standard. States may petition DOE to exempt a state regulation from preemption by the Federal energy conservation standard. States may also petition DOE to withdraw such exemptions. For details, see 10 CFR part 431, subpart W.
For more information related to this product, please email:
ApplianceStandardsQuestions@ee.doe.gov
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