by Brianna Crandall — December 25, 2015—Energy efficiency standards issued last Friday for rooftop air conditioners and heat pumps — which are said to represent the largest energy and pollution savings of any rule ever issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) — will benefit businesses, manufacturers, and the environment, according to four of the organizations that participated in the negotiations leading to the announcement.
The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) representing manufacturers, the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP), the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) joined a total of 17 stakeholders in the negotiations, including representatives of individual manufacturers, installers, utilities, environmental groups and efficiency organizations.
The new standards are expected to save 1.7 trillion kilowatt hours over 30 years of sales, or almost as much energy as created by all the coal burned in the United States to generate electricity in a year. Rooftop air conditioners cool about half the commercial floor space in the nation, notes the group. DOE also set standards for commercial warm air furnaces, which are typically installed with the rooftop commercial air conditioners.
Based on DOE’s estimates, the new rooftop air-conditioner standards will save more energy and cut more emissions than any other standards completed by the agency, outpacing the previous record-setters that covered electric motors (2014) and fluorescent tube lamps (2009). DOE estimates that the new standards will save businesses as much as $50 billion in energy costs.
Rooftop air conditioners are typically found on low-rise buildings such as big box stores, schools, apartment buildings, restaurants, and offices. The new standards would net a typical building owner between $4,200 and $10,100 over the life of a single rooftop air conditioner. Moreover, unlike a typical household that has just one central air conditioning unit, commercial spaces have multiple units, and therefore may enjoy bigger savings. A typical big box store, for example, often has over 20 units — and that is just one building among millions of commercial facilities across the country, point out the organizations.
The rooftop air conditioner standards will take effect in two phases, increasing minimum efficiency by about 10% as of January 1, 2018, and by 25–30% as of January 1, 2023. Standards for new warm air furnaces that are typically installed as a unit with a commercial air conditioner also become effective in 2023.
