Press Contact: Sarah Griffith, 617-589-3949 ext. 213, sgriffith@cee1.org
Technical Contact: John Taylor, 617-532-0944, jtaylor@cee1.org

13 SEER Standards Possible Due to Member Programs

Commercial HVAC Standard Equals Residential Requirements, Effective June 2008

This month, the HVAC market will officially cap a transition to 13 SEER minimums. Residential equipment was subject to 13 SEER minimums in 2006, but commercial equipment maintained a 10 SEER minimum. In consultation with the HVAC industry, CEE finalized higher performance requirements for small commercial air conditioners and heat pumps on January 22, 2007. CEE retained a 13 SEER tier at that time, but planned to drop the tier when a new federal minimum went into effect. These tiers covered three-phase central air conditioners and heat pumps rated at less than 65,000 Btu/h.

Voluntary energy efficiency programs have been instrumental in spurring industry efforts to manufacture and install high efficiency products. Due in part to market acceptance of greater efficiency created by CEE member programs, the SEER requirements for the lowest CEE tier will become the new federal standard in June. This change was authorized in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. To ensure the CEE Specification continues to recognize performance that significantly exceeds the minimum performance mandated by law, CEE will drop its current Tier 1 effective June 16th, the same day the new federal standard goes into effect. Tiers 2 and 3 will be renamed 1 and 2 respectively. Members are expected to continue promoting the new CEE Tiers, which also include an "EER" requirement to support reductions in peak demand. Member programs promoting CEE Tiers should enable similar advances to be possible in the future.

Congratulations to all our members for their efforts that once again demonstrate that here at CEE, we are successfully Working Together, Advancing Efficiency.

For additional information, e-mail John Taylor at jtaylor@cee1.org.

CEE

CEE is a consortium of efficiency program administrators from across the U.S. and Canada who work together on common approaches to advancing efficiency. Through joining forces, the individual efficiency programs of CEE are able to partner not only with each other, but with other industries, trade associations, and government agencies. By working together at CEE, administrators leverage the effect of their funding dollars, exchange information on effective practices and, by doing so, achieve greater energy efficiency for the public good.