Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), the Indoor Environment & Energy Efficiency Association, and the Michigan Air Conditioning Contractors of America (MIACCA) sent a letter on November 8, 2016, to Rick Snyder, Governor of Michigan, urging the state to promote proper HVAC installations and to create incentive programs for hiring contractors who follow industry recognized standards to reduce power demand.
The state of Michigan has been working to comply with federal climate standards, including coal plant retirements. However, according to recent modeling commissioned by state agencies, these changes mean the state may not be able to generate enough power to meet its needs in the future. To help increase energy efficiency while maintaining necessary power levels, ACCA and MIACCA urged Governor Snyder to consider the largest residential consumer of energy: home HVAC systems.
READ THE FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER TO GOV. SNYDER
In fact, according to a recent study from the National Institute of Standards and Installation (NIST), poor residential HVAC installation practices can lead to a dramatic increase in energy usage, no matter how "efficient" a particular manufactured system may be rated. Fortunately, there are ways to improve HVAC installation, and reduce energy use, through contractor education and consumer incentive programs, and both organizations offered to work with policy makers on an appropriate solution.
There are ways to improve HVAC installation, and reduce energy use, through contractor education and consumer incentive programs, and both organizations offered to work with policy makers on an appropriate solution.
"Simply, upgrading to highly efficient HVAC systems has been ineffective for most homes because they have not been installed according to the manufacturers’ recommendations, or to new residential energy codes recently enacted in Michigan. To address this, ACCA created the nationally recognized HVAC installation standard, ANSI/ACCA 5 (HVAC Quality Installation Specification) – the minimum design and installation requirements for residential and commercial HVAC applications. If followed, HVAC equipment can function according to the manufacturers’ energy efficiency ratings and consumers will realize increased savings and comfort. Equally important, the energy saved by ensuring that all HVAC equipment is properly installed will help Michigan address its energy demands."
"Working on the state level to improve energy efficiency through proper installations that follow ACCA's Quality Installation Specification is key to the entire country being more energy efficient,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, ACCA President & CEO. "I am hopeful that other states will work with the HVAC industry to help address problems caused by poor HVAC installation procedures.”
"HVAC contractors can have a huge impact on reducing the energy demand in the state of Michigan," said Brindley Byrd, MIACCA Executive Director. "Partnering with ACCA to encourage our governor to promote proper installations will strengthen our position. While we cannot fix all of the energy problems in our state, we can be leaders in the effort that will help all of our citizens.”