01/31/2023
NEW HVAC REGULATIONS FOR RESIDENTIAL HOMES
If you have had to purchase a new hvac system in the last twenty years, you've heard of SEER ratings. SEER stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio. It measures an air conditioner’s cooling output compared to the electrical energy it consumes. The higher the SEER rating, the more efficient the AC. We tell customers. . . "a 3 ton is a 3 ton is a 3 ton. . . a higher SEER rating doesn't mean it cools BETTER, it means that it does the same amount of cooling at a LOWER COST."
Beginning January 1, 2023, there were two SEER-related changes. First, the minimum SEER rating increased on HVAC equipment. Starting this year, new air conditioners must have a minimum SEER of 14 in northern states and 15 in southern states.
The problem with SEER Ratings, is that it didn't really measure the energy efficiency across all real-life operating conditions, so now we also have the SEER 2 standard. SEER 2 is similar to its predecessor in that it measures the total heat removed from a specific space versus how much energy it uses in the process. The required testing conditions will change to better mirror real-life circumstances, basically, using the static pressure produced by a typical ductwork system.
This resulted in a reduction across the board for most hvac systems, of approximately 1 SEER, so the typical 14 SEER system achieved from 13-13.2 SEER2. As a result of this change, manufacturers have had to retest, revamp and re-label much of their product lines. In 2023, HVAC equipment, including AC condensers and heat pumps, will have to display their SEER 2 rating on their packaging.
This change will give you a slightly better estimate of your potential energy usage when shopping for new HVAC equipment, but it also seems to have resulted in stock disruption and higher prices. The problem was, that with previous similar rule changes, the wording was such that the manufacturers had to change PRODUCTION by the specified date, but this rule different, as it stated units could not be SOLD or INSTALLED after that January 1, 2023.
So, instead of, as in the past, allowing the units to gradually phase out as stock dwindled, HVAC distributors were in the position of needing to liquidate all pre-2023 units BEFORE Jan 1, or they'd be stuck with units they simply couldn't sell legally. Manufacturers were in the position of needing to completely stop production of their existing lines far enough ahead of time to not be saddled with thousands of units that basically would be illegal to sell and install. So, as distributors ran out of pre-2023 equipment, they were not able to restock, but instead had to wait for the new re-designed and re-labeled equipment to arrive. This created a huge disruption in the market, especially in the 3-5 ton range of equipment.
We seem to be through the worst of the shortages, but we are all still stuck with substantially higher prices, especially in the 5 ton series of equipment, which, historically, has always had the most difficulty achieving higher SEER ratings while maintaining a standard footprint. We appreciate the patience and understanding our customers have had with us this last year, as we have done our best to navigate through shortages of not only ductwork, but also hvac equipment. I have been in this industry for over 35 years, and I never imagined that we would one day be on a quota system for ductwork, allowing us to purchase only a set amount of certain sizes per week! Surely, SURELY, 2023 will settle down a little for us all! Christy Hicks
