Lesko’s bill gets continued industry support

A bill that Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (R-AZ) introduced earlier this summer continues to get support from the industry.

Called the SMART Energy Efficiency Standards Act, the bill aims to standardize the compliance deadline for meeting new energy efficiency standards.

Quick refresher: As of January 1, 2023, all newly installed AC equipment had to comply with SEER2 requirements. The deadlines to meet compliance, however, were set differently for the North and South.

The compliance deadline was determined by manufacture date in the North and installation date in the South.

The consequence: If a contractor in the South bought equipment before January 1st (which didn’t meet SEER2 requirements), they had to install it prior to January 1st. After that, it was deemed non-compliant.

On the flip side, contractors up North had the luxury of installing pre-2023 equipment after January 1st because it complied with standards at the time it was manufactured.

Using installation date is a “failed policy”, says HARDI. “This equipment does not simply disappear when the compliance deadline passes, the equipment is shipped to an unaffected state”.

Lesko’s bill is just one sentence long and proposes that compliance for any new standards going forward is determined by manufacture date, not installation date — regardless of region.

What’s next: ACCA and HARDI will lobby in favor of the bill, which is currently in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.