In the Air - HRAI Industry News
HRAI/AHRI/CIPH Comments on ENERGY STAR® Air-to-Water HP Specifications
Earlier this week, HRAI joined AHRI and CIPH in making comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding the ENERGY STAR® discussion guide for a new specification for air-to-water heat pumps (ATWHP) that was issued on June 5, 2023. The association comments reflected an extensive discussion with affected members regarding industry consensus test procedures and performance rating standards for ATWHPs.
The comments submitted by the three associations reflect initial industry consensus positions but note that considerable further discussion is required. A task force is making progress on recommending a scope test procedure development.
The letter reports that there are three areas of member consensus at the moment:
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The product category is complex and therefore, to properly address the various applications, additional meetings with EPA and DOE will be needed before issuing draft specifications;
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The term “ATWHP” should serve as a broad umbrella term for the equipment type (not “heat pump boilers”), but for a product category with many end-uses and configurations, more detailed product terminology may be appropriate, depending on the scope of industry consensus test procedures, and ultimately products that the EPA wishes to include in a specification; and
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that AHRI 550/590 does not fully capture the performance of ATWHPs.
For a copy of the letter, click HERE. There will be more on this topic as the discussions with EPA progress.
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