AHRI Update

July 18, 2024

Top Stories

Save the Date for the 2024 AHRI Leadership Forum!

Make plans to join your HVACR and water heating industry association colleagues at the 2024 AHRI Leadership Forum, to be held November 17-19 at the La Quinta Resort & Club, in Palm Springs, California. 

The Leadership Forum offers the perfect balance of productivity, networking, and fun as AHRI members connect amidst the stunning Santa Rosa mountains, Spanish-inspired architecture, lush gardens, and sparkling fountains of La Quinta. Click here to add the event to your calendar!

Serving as the industry’s premiere annual event, the AHRI Leadership Forum offers plenty of opportunity for those of all leadership levels to learn, network, and grow in a collegial atmosphere - whether you take advantage of our informative and interactive general sessions, learn from our top-flight keynote speakers, or participate in the several new ways to engage product engineers.

What's New in 2024?

As part of AHRI’s efforts to provide the space for relevant, timely, and in-person discussions about specific industry issues, this year’s Leadership Forum will feature several product group meetings that will be open to all attendees. These smaller, product-specific meetings will be led by volunteer chairs and AHRI certification program engineers whose technical expertise will guide the conversation. Additional information regarding specific product groups, and the corresponding engineer to contact with questions, will be released in the coming weeks.

Event attendees will also enjoy the same popular features as previous years, including:

• Chairman's Breakfast and industry awards
• Top-notch keynote speakers
• General sessions led by industry experts
• Select committee meetings
• The Need-to-Know Show
• The Incoming Chairman's Luncheon and Sports Awards
• Networking opportunities during AHRI's evening receptions and dinners
• A golf tournament at one of the top-rated courses in the country
• Other sports, tours, and spouse activities 

Who Should Attend?

AHRI member company representatives, particularly those serving as senior executives; emerging company leaders; product engineers; and policy, communications, and marketing professionals. This meeting is the perfect opportunity to build relationships and acquaint new and emerging leaders with critical industry issues.

When Can I Register?

Registration for the 2024 Leadership Forum will open online August 15. Click here to create a calendar reminder.

Stay tuned for more information on the event in the weekly AHRI Update and be sure to whitelist the email address [email protected] to receive all association meeting notices. Contact: Lauren Little.

AHRI/Industry News

AHRI Welcomes New Member

AHRI is pleased to welcome United Technologies Electronic Controls (UTEC) as a full member. Their sectors/product types are:

• Applied, Refrigeration and Unitary: Controls (Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Electronic Controls)
• Heating and Unitary: Controls (Gas)

Contact: Michael Golden.

Legislative & Regulatory

Join AHRI for Upcoming Webinar on 2024 Supreme Court Takeaways

Join AHRI on Wednesday, July 24 at 1:00 p.m. EDT for a one-hour webinar, “2024 Supreme Court Decisions and How They Impact You.” An expert panel will present key takeaways from the recent Supreme Court decisions and will provide a specialized perspective on how they may affect AHRI member companies and the HVACR and water heating industry. 

The panel, which will include Sean Lev, Partner, HWG; Scott Segal, Partner, Bracewell; and Scott Stone, Founder & President, Glencoe Strategies; will discuss the following Supreme Court decisions: 

• Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (Chevron Doctrine)
• West Virginia v. EPA (Major Questions Doctrine)
• Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Statute of Limitations)
• SEC v. Jarkesy 
• Ohio v. EPA (Good Neighbor Rule)

Click here to register for the webinar. Contact: Marie Carpizo.

DOE to Host Building Energy Codes Webinars

The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced plans to host several webinars as part of its Building Energy Codes Program (BCEP) Webinar Series. Several of the topics, including the two listed below, are of interest to the HVACR and water heating industry:

Refrigerants and Codes: Understanding the Impact of Refrigerants Requirements on Building Codes and Standards on the Path to Net Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions 

• August 15, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EDT
• Register here
• Speakers: Tom Deary, AHRI; Aanchal Kohli, California Air Resources Board (CARB); and Kristen Taddonio, Consultant
• Description: The pursuit of decarbonization of the U.S. economy by 2050 will require a multi-pronged approach. Among the two most popular options are increasing the mechanical efficiency requirements of equipment such as air conditioners and water heaters and incentivizing the replacement of traditional refrigerants with low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. However, because several of the lowest-GWP refrigerant options have higher flammability or toxicity ratings, their use might require updated state and local building codes. This session will provide an overview of current refrigerant codes and standards and explore new approaches that could overcome barriers to the adoption of low-GWP refrigerants.

What’s in the Latest Residential Model Energy Code: Preparing for the 2024 IECC

• September 19, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EDT
• Register here 
• Description: Learn what’s new in the Residential 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). Experts will highlight major differences between the 2024 IECC-R and the 2021 IECC-R and help practitioners understand new and updated requirements throughout the code, including the building thermal envelope, energy credits, compliance paths, and more. This session will also unpack the many new appendices and describe how jurisdictions can support their adoption.

Contact: Tom Deary.

Standards

Weekly Update from ASHRAE, ANSI, and SCC

This week’s summary of standards activities at ASHRAE, ANSI, and SCC that are relevant to AHRI’s work is available here. Current and previous standards activities for ASHRAE can be found here. Current and previous standards activities for ANSI can be found here.

International

AHRI MENA to Host Webinar on “Efficient Cooling Strategies for Sustainable Data Centers”

AHRI and the Indian Green Building Council will host a free webinar, “Efficient Cooling Strategies for Sustainable Data Centers,” on July 30 at 11:00 a.m. GST (3:00 a.m. EDT). Designed for IT professionals, data center managers, sustainability consultants, and other professionals, this webinar will provide an in-depth explanation of the latest innovations in IT space cooling. Click here to register.

AHRI Senior Technical Analyst Dalip Singh will guide the conversation with the India Green Building Council's Dr. Shivraj Dhaka and Eng. Ujjwal Singh Rao. They will cover the potential of free cooling, the cutting-edge technology that makes it possible, and why certification is so important. Don't miss this opportunity to hear directly from the experts! Contact: Hassan Kal.

AHRI to Participate in CONUEE Standards Working Group

On July 10, Mexico’s Ministry of Economy announced, in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), its plans to develop a draft standard, calling for the development of minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for unitary type air conditioners. The standard is an addendum to Mexico’s 2024 National Quality Infrastructure Program, which was first published January 30. The announcement is available in Spanish on page 39 of this document.

Mexico’s Comisión Nacional para el Uso Eficiente de la Energía (CONUEE) will establish a working group (WG) for Commercial Rooftop Equipment, with a scope covering, “self-contained unit-pack type air conditioners with rated cooling capacities of 19,050 W (65,000 Btu/h) and up to 70,340 W (240,000 Btu/h), reversible cycle or non-reversible cycle, (heat pump & cooling only) air-cooled, electrically operated, operating by mechanical compression, which includes a single-speed compressor (fixed capacity) or a variable frequency and/or refrigerant flow compressor (proportionally controlled capacity) or a compressor of staged velocities (staged capacity) and an air-cooled condenser coil.”

AHRI will participate in the CONUEE standards WG, and will advocate for reference to AHRI Standard 340/360 (I-P), Performance Rating of Commercial and Industrial Unitary Air Conditioning and Heat Pump Equipment for limits, test methods, and labeling. The WG is scheduled to conduct its development work between August and December. Contact: Mario Maldonado.

President Biden Imposes New Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum from Mexico

President Biden announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum entering the United States through Mexico, effective July 10, in an effort to prevent an anticipated increase in transshipments of these metals from China. 

Steel entering the U.S. from Mexico will incur a 25 percent tariff if it was not melted or poured in Mexico, the U.S., or Canada. Aluminum entering the U.S. through Mexico will incur a ten percent tariff if it was cast or smelt in China, Russia, Iran, or Belarus.

These measures are in addition to the increase in tariffs at rates of between 25 and 50 percent that Mexico decreed last April on the import of dozens of steel and aluminum products from nations with which it does not have free trade agreements. 

President Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador released a joint statement on the new tariffs, stating that the new measures are designed to protect and strengthen the North American steel and aluminum supply chain. Contact: Michael LaGiglia.