Industry changes: 3/12/13
Recently our federal government has implemented a change in our industry. Increased efficiency changes across the lower 48 states. Furnaces and air conditioners were required to change depending on which part of the country you may live in. 90+% vs. 80% efficient furnaces for the northern half of our country. The southern half of the country are faced with the 15 SEER vs. 13 SEER air conditioners. These changes are referred to as regional standards.
For us here in Utah, that means we all would have to make this change when it came time to replace your furnace. 90+% was going to be your only option. This proposed change was for May 1st, 2013. This is all great! We are all for better efficiency products and steps to better our environment. However, implications of this change were a little too quick.
Many of the professionals in our industry had major concerns about the proposed changes. 90+% efficient furnaces had two concerns. 1- 90+% furnaces have to be vented (or exhausted) differently than most of the older style furnaces (Making it difficult to properly vent exhaust to the atmosphere). 2-90+% efficiency furnaces produce condensation when they are running and need to be drain properly. This also in some applications makes it difficult. Some furnaces are located in attics and crawl spaces. Subject to freezing temperatures
Thankfully many of these type of concerns and some major influence from large corporations the federal government has taken some concerns into consideration. This means that is has not gone away but has been given a time frame to hear and make changes to the proposal. This process can be as little as 2 years from now (May 1, 2015) to as far away as May 1, 2019.
Manwill Plumbing and Heating has been planning for this change. Keeping our customers informed has always been a priority of ours. Now that this change is on hold for now, we will (as always) do our best to keep our customers informed of any new changes in the future.
Manwill Plumbing and Heating
