Changes for 2018 – Convenient Rebates, Rooftop Standards
by HVAC Distributors December 21, 2017Convenient Rebates
Goodman Manufacturing announced updates to its homeowner-oriented web sites, www.goodmanmfg.com and www.amana-hac.com. The sites now integrates rebates available based on a homeowner’s location into its web site layout. As customers (or you) search for products, rebates available in the local area will also populate.
Region-specific rebates can be searched on the sites by selecting Rebate Center under the Resources menu on each site.
Rooftop Energy Efficiency Standards are Changing
At the beginning of this year, 3 to 5 ton 13 SEER Packaged Units were discontinued, per Department of Energy regulation.
Beginning January 1, 2018, the performance measurement metric for 6 – 25 ton packaged units is being changed from EER to IEER (Integrated Energy Efficiency Ratio). This change is expected to improve the energy efficiency of rooftop equipment by about 10%. Required minimum IEER are noted in the table below.
Updated IEER Ratings for Equipment Manufactured On/After January 1, 2018
| Unit | Min IEER | |
| Cooling Only | 6-10 T | 12.9 |
| 12.5-20 T | 12.4 | |
| 25T | 11.6 | |
| Gas/ Electric | 6-10 T | 12.7 |
| 12.5-20 T | 12.2 | |
| 25T | 11.4 | |
| Heat Pump | 6-10 T | 12.2 (3.3 COP) |
| 12.5-20 T | 11.6 (3.2 COP) | |
| 25T | 10.6 (3.2 COP) | |
What does this mean for your customers? According to an article in ACHR News, “a typical building owner [would save] $4,200-$10,100 over the life of a single rooftop air conditioner. For larger commercial buildings, the savings are significant.”
What does this mean for you? As stock of older rooftops runs out, it will be replaced by units that meet the now higher efficiency requirements. To improve IEER, which is a weighted average of four load points, manufacturers adjust how the equipment performs at 75% load and 50% load. This can be done by increasing the physical size of the system or, as our manufacturer partners are doing, by changing compressors and drives to provide more variable performance.
You are still able to purchase and install rooftops that meet current EER/IEER standards. However, these models are not allowed to be manufactured after January 1, 2018, so when we sell out of existing inventory, it is gone for good.
If you are an HVAC Distributors/HVAC Commercial Solutions customer with a current committed project with an extended lead time, please reach out to your Account Manager about product availability.
If you are an HVAC Distributors/HVAC Commercial Solutions customer interested in learning more about how our manufacturer partners are improving the energy efficiency of their rooftop products, or in how best to explain these changes to your customers, reach out to your Account Manager.