Remember the rhythmic line from the movie “The Wizard of Oz” that went “follow the yellow brick road” which they repeated and repeated? Well, they got nothing on the HVAC industry. We now say Follow the Yellow Energy Efficiency Cards. If your yellow energy efficiency card says that condenser match up could possibly match up with one air handling unit (not necessarily the one you’re using) and the rating be less than 15 SEER, you may get the opportunity to replace that system at your expense. So be careful what the yellow card on your equipment says.
So that was one of the take aways from the most recent MACCA meeting. A meeting attended by close to 100 people. People from all areas of our industry. We had suppliers, manufacturers, inspectors, engineers and of course contractors all trying to unravel the latest government interference. It is amazing how politicians can make a mess out of almost anything. Take the testing done to produce SEER ratings. Rather than just making the minimum SEER rating higher, they decided to double dip and not only raise the minimum but make the testing required to obtain these ratings much tougher than the old tests. The Department of Energy (DOE) took the original test called the “M” test to a new level with the “M1” test. This new testing will require higher static pressure tests to “better emulate the real world” (like they know anything about the real world). The new testing will show the need for more systems requiring TXV’s rather than pistons and more expensive motors to overcome that static pressure. The key word there was EXPENSIVE.
All these parts will create higher manufacturing costs and I’ll give you one guess as to where the manufacturer is going to pass that expense on to. Correct… on to the suppliers, then us and then the consumer (you know those people in the real world they were going to emulate). Add these costs to a supply chain nightmare we are dealing with today and rising inflation and you can see the logic of making the SEER change now. NO LOGIC !!
You might ask who is going to enforce these new requirements. No worries, the DOE has it under their jurisdiction. ANYONE can call the hotline or send an email and investigation will ensue. There can be financial fines which can be accrued from the day the equipment was installed. DOE can make you change non complying equipment at no cost to the consumer (finally found a way to be nice to the consumer). And if the contractor turns out to be a repeat offender they can be put on a “Do Not Sell To” list making it difficult to do our job. And just in case the “flying monkeys” (the politicians in our movie reference) haven’t made you angry enough..the new rating will be called SEER 2 which can only mean that SEER 3, 4, 5 are in our future. Now close your eyes, click your heels together three times and say “There’s no place like home”.
About Paul
Paul Stehle cut his teeth in the HVAC industry at an early age, helping his father operate a sheet metal shop out of the family’s basement in Long Island, NY. He joined his father and older brother when they opened Climatic Conditioning, Inc. in Sarasota, FL in 1972. They all earned ac contractor’s licenses and built the business successfully, at one point employing 65 people. Paul and his brother recently sold the business and retired.
Paul has served on local and statewide air conditioning contractor associations and has consistently been among the first to defend the industry when it has been threatened and been an advocate for unity, apprenticeships, professionalism and fairness. He has supported other trade associations as well, most notably the Gulf Coast Builder’s Exchange. Though “retired”, Paul continues to be involved in the HVACR industry and his community. Stay tuned for more literary contributions.
Contact Paul by emailing pgs1953@aol.com.
