Efficiency a topic of Congress meeting

USA: Representatives of US air conditioning contractors have met with members of Congress to explain that poor installations mean systems are operating at reduced efficiency.

Last week, the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) board of directors hosted HVAC 101 for Congress, a Capitol Hill briefing. The briefing was followed by dozens of meetings with members of Congress and their staff, as well as senior officials from the Trump administration.

The purpose of the briefing was to underscore for congressional leaders that most consumers are receiving 60-70% of the labeled efficiency of their heating, ventilation and air conditioning because half of the installations in the country are not done properly.

ACCA’s briefing panel was led by congressman Markwayne Mullin, ACCA board members and former Energy Star national manager Chandler von Schrader. The panel recommended policy changes to the Energy Star programme and the Environmental Policy and Conservation Act that can help address the efficiency gaps. Attendees were encouraged to use legislative tools to force regulatory agencies to undertake robust consumer awareness campaigns promoting quality contracting practices.

“The ACCA briefing and our subsequent meetings with members of Congress was certainly worth the time and energy that we put in,” said ACCA chairman Don Langston, president of Aire Rite Air Conditioning and Refrigeration of Huntington Beach, CA. “Every Member of Congress I met with recognized that if US energy policy continues to focus on a piece of high-efficiency equipment then homes and businesses will continue to suffer. They understood that the federal government must do a better job of promoting the role of a professional contractor if we want our homes and businesses to be energy efficient.”

ACCA represent 60,000 professionals and 4,000 small businesses that design, install and maintain indoor environment and building performance systems.