How to Participate

Participation in AHRI standards activities is open to any stakeholder or affected or interested party, though AHRI membership (i.e. employment by or representation of an AHRI member company) is required for some standards activities.

The following opportunities for participation are available:

  • Submission of ideas or proposals for new standards
  • Voting membership in the Standards Subcommittee that approves the start of new standards activities, and then reviews and approves the publication of the AHRI standard
  • Voting membership in the Standards Technical Committee and/or subsidiary Standards Work Group that develops the standard
  • Review and comment on the draft standard via the public review announced by AHRI, or via the reviews announced by ANSI or SCC
  • Participation in the Consensus Bodies to review and give final approval of the ANSI or SCC standard
  • Participation in the oversight of the AHRI standards activity through membership in the Standards Committee

Submission of proposals for new standards activities

Any person or organization, whether a member of AHRI or not, may submit an idea or proposal for a new standards activity. The proposal will be forwarded to the applicable Standards Subcommittee, based on the topic of the potential work, for consideration. All submissions will be acknowledged. The proposal should include a detailed description of the market or industry issue or problem to be addressed, a scope of work, and how the proposed standard will address that problem. The Subcommittee may follow up with the submitter for clarification or to ask for additional information.

Ideas and proposals for new AHRI standards activities should be submitted to AHRI_Standards@ahrinet.org.

Standards Subcommittees membership

AHRI Standards Subcommittees (SSCs) are composed of AHRI member experts who provide the final review and approval to publish an AHRI standard. There is one Subcommittee for each industry sector: Applied, Unitary, Refrigeration, Heating, Sound & Vibration, and Components. Each Subcommittee has 6 to 12 members.

To apply for an open position on one of the Subcommittees, or to be added to the waiting list of candidates when there are no current openings, submit your name, resume, and the name of the Subcommittee you are interested in to AHRI_Standards@ahrinet.org.

Participation in the Standards Technical Committee or Standards Work Group

Any person interested in or affected by AHRI standards or employed by or representing an organization interested in or affected by AHRI standards, may join a Standards Technical Committee (STC) or a Standards Work Group (SWG) either as a voting or non-voting member.

Voting membership in the STC or SWG requires that the person be employed by or is a representative of an AHRI member company or is employed by or representing a company that is not eligible for AHRI membership. (Persons who are employed by or representing a company that is eligible for AHRI membership but is not a member, may participate as a non-voting member.)

Requests to join a STC should include your name, resume, and the name of the STC or standard you wish to work on; this should be submitted to AHRI_Standards@ahrinet.org.

A list of current AHRI standards activities is available here.

A calendar of upcoming committee meetings is found here.

Participate in Reviews

The draft standard will be opened for public review upon the completion of the STC’s development work and prior to approval by the Standards Subcommittee (SSC). All stakeholders, i.e., those people or organizations interested in or affected by the standard, are invited and encouraged to participate in the review.

Public reviews will be announced here and also announced via ANSI Standards Action and SCC, as applicable.

Reviewers should submit their comments using this form, which requires both identification of the problem and a recommended solution.

Membership in a Consensus Body

AHRI Consensus Bodies are composed of experts, both AHRI members and non-members, who provide the final review and approval to publish an approved AHRI standard as an American National Standard (for ANSI) or National Standard Canada (for SCC). Each Consensus Body has eight to 12 members. Employment by an AHRI member company is not required for membership in the Consensus Body.

A balance of interests is required among the Consensus Body membership; no one interest (e.g. manufacturers) can constitute a majority of members of the Consensus Body. As such, AHRI invites and welcomes participation by a broad range of stakeholder interests, especially those outside of AHRI’s membership which is primarily composed of manufacturers of HVACR equipment.

AHRI’s Interest Categories are as follows:

  • Component Manufacturer: Those who are or are employed by or represent a company that is predominantly involved in the design and manufacture of components and subassemblies that go into the manufacture of HVACR equipment, or a person representing those interests.
  • Product Manufacturer: Those who are or are employed by or represent a company that is predominantly involved in the design and manufacture of finished HVACR products and equipment, which may or may not include components and subassemblies coming from other manufacturers, or a person representing those interests.
  • Regulatory Agency: Those who represent or are employed by any local, state, or federal government regulatory agency, or a person representing those interests.
  • Testing Laboratory: Those who are predominantly involved in the testing and/or certification of products, or a person representing those interests.
  • Consumer/User: Those who use or are interested in the use of or represent the views and concerns of those who use products described by the standard.
  • General Interest: Those who have interest in the subject of the standard but are not included in any of the other Interest Categories.

To apply for an open position on one of the Consensus Bodies, or to be added to the waiting list of candidates when there are no current openings, submit your name, resume, product types or AHRI industry sectors you are interested in, and Interest Category to AHRI_Standards@ahrinet.org.

Membership in the Standards Committee

The AHRI Standards Committee is a standing committee of the AHRI Board of Directors, with ownership of the AHRI Standards Committee Policy and Procedures document and oversight of the standards activity. Membership appointed by the Chair of the AHRI Board of Directors on an annual basis. Members of the Standards Committee must be employed by or be representatives of AHRI member companies. To be considered for membership please submit your name and resume to AHRI_Standards@ahrinet.org.