DOE has published a Federal Register notice of proposed rulemaking proposing to amend the test procedures for air-cooled commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps with a rated cooling capacity greater than or equal to 65,000 Btu/h, evaporatively-cooled commercial package air conditioners, and water-cooled commercial package air conditioners to incorporate by reference the latest versions of the applicable industry test standards. Specifically, DOE proposes: to amend the current test procedure for this equipment for measuring the current cooling and heating metrics – integrated energy efficiency ratio (IEER) and coefficient of performance (COP), respectively; and to establish a new test procedure for this equipment that would adopt two new metrics—integrated ventilation, economizer, and cooling (IVEC) and integrated ventilation and heating efficiency (IVHE). Additionally, DOE proposes to amend certain provisions of DOE’s regulations related to representations and enforcement for the subject equipment. 

• DOE will accept comments, data, and information regarding this NOPR until October 16, 2023.
• Interested persons may submit comments identified by docket number EERE-2023-BT-TP-0014, by email (CUACHP2023TP0014@ee.doe.gov), Federal eRulemaking portal (http://www.regulations.gov).
• DOE will hold a webinar on Thursday, September 7, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Click here to register for the webinar.
• Foreign Nationals interested in participating in this webinar, must be screened by DOE Headquarters Security prior to being granted access. Please email Regina.Washington@ee.doe.gov to complete the necessary documentation at least two weeks prior to scheduled meeting date.
• Additional webinar registration information, participant instructions, and information about the capabilities available to webinar participants will be published on DOE’s website: https://energy.gov/eere/buildings/public-meetings-and-comment-deadlines

On August 2, 2022 DOE published a notice of intent to establish a working group for Commercial Unitary Air Conditioner and Commercial Unitary Heat Pumps to negotiate a notice of proposed rulemaking for test procedures and energy conservation standards.  Information regarding the CUAC and CUHP working group is located on the working group webpage. The commercial package air conditioners and heat pumps energy conservation standards and test procedures rulemaking docket EERE-2022-BT-STD-0015 contains all notices, public comments, working group and public meeting transcripts, and supporting documents pertaining to this rulemaking.

For the latest information on the planned timing of future DOE regulatory milestones, see the current Office of Management and Budget Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. All planned dates are preliminary and subject to change.

Air-cooled unitary air-conditioners and heat pumps manufactured and distributed in commerce, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 6291(16), must meet the energy conservation standards specified in the Code of Federal Regulations at  10 CFR 431.97.

To determine that air-cooled unitary air-conditioners and heat pumps that are currently manufactured or distributed into commerce are in compliance with DOE standards, manufacturers must follow the test procedure methods specified at 10 CFR 431.96.