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Residential HVAC Quality Installation Programs Take Advantage of National Efforts and Incentives

Southern California Edison (SCE) recently filed program plans for the next three years that include ENERGY STAR^® HVAC Quality Installation and Quality Maintenance programs.

Through the SCE QI program, a financial incentive will be available to homeowners who have a CEE Tier 2 or Tier 3 system installed in accordance with the ANSI/ACCA QI standard. Several CEE members participated in the development of this standard, which is the basis for the ENERGY STAR QI program. SCE, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), and Oncor Electric Delivery all hosted pilots of the ENERGY STAR Program in 2007, which was officially rolled out in January of this year. In addition to the financial incentive, participating homeowners also receive an ENERGY STAR certificate. SCE is considering offering a smaller incentive for 13 SEER systems installed to the ENERGY STAR guidelines. If approved, their program will join Oncor Electric Delivery and the Massachusetts COOL SMART Program (sponsored by members NSTAR and National Grid) as some of the first ENERGY STAR QI programs. Several other utilities across the country are also exploring such a program.

Paul Kyllo, SCE program manager, explained, “Quality Installation and Quality Maintenance are key components of California’s Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan. The effort that ACCA has put into the ANSI/ACCA QI standard has already laid the groundwork for what we want to accomplish in California with our utility HVAC programs. The benefit of using national standards such as the ANSI/ACCA QI standard is that it provides a consistent basis for program design.”

Dave Legg of National Grid and Dick Moran of NSTAR report that “COOL SMART will be strengthening its program in 2009 by including ENERGY STAR QI verification that supports the ANSI-ACCA Quality Installation Specification. This complements our Quality Installation Verification (QIV) component, offered by a growing number of participating contractors.”

Similar to the QI program, the proposed Quality Maintenance program also makes use of a new, national ANSI-recognized standard that was developed by ACCA. Third-parties would deliver this program and would encourage HVAC contractors to deliver comprehensive operation and maintenance, repair, and retro-commissioning services to improve the installed efficiency of existing unitary equipment. Contractors would need to complete a comprehensive set of maintenance measures that are deemed to be appropriate for the particular system serviced. This program would also be available to commercial customers.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) decision on this filing is not expected until early next year, and program implementation would hopefully occur in time for the 2009 cooling season. Kyllo summarized, “The work of CEE and ACCA, combined with EPA’s leadership in launching the ENERGY STAR QI program, will enable such programs to start with built-in brand recognition and thus minimize the cost and time required to create market awareness.”

Ted Leopkey, who oversees the EPA HVAC QI program, notes, “The goal of the ENERGY STAR HVAC QI program is to improve existing HVAC installation practices and deliver the performance that homeowners expect when they purchase a new high efficiency HVAC system.” EPA is currently recruiting utility program partners to implement the ENERGY STAR HVAC QI program. For more information please contact Ted Leopkey via e-mail or phone (202-343-9659).

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