ARI Solicits Proposals For Certification Testing Labs

The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) is soliciting proposals from independent testing laboratories to administer and conduct certification testing of its member's heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) equipment for the 2005 test year.

All independent testing laboratories with the ability to conduct product performance testing of HVACR equipment are invited to submit a proposal for the upcoming year. For detailed information regarding submittal instructions, certification program work statements, and the number of annual tests for all certification programs, please visit ARI's certification program Web site at www.ari.org/cert (Laboratory's Section). The deadline for submittals is September 1, 2004.

In its certification programs, ARI verifies manufacturers' certified performance ratings of industry products in continuous and extensive laboratory testing. ARI administers 21 certification programs for various types of HVACR equipment. It annually selects a significant portion of each participating manufacturer's production models to be tested by an independent laboratory under contract to ARI. Overall, ARI administers more than 1,800 certification tests each year. Units are tested using procedures stipulated in the corresponding ARI standard to verify that they meet the manufacturers' certified published performance.

ARI certified data is kept in an online database, PrimeNet, accessible to the public at www.ariprimenet.org.