"Industry, Advocates Agree on New Home Heating, Cooling Standards"

"Equipment manufacturers and energy efficiency advocates agreed today on new standards aimed at dramatically reducing energy use in homes.

The standards will likely take effect in 2013 and are expected to save 3.7 quadrillion British thermal units of energy by 2030, the equivalent of the total annual energy needs of Georgia, Massachusetts or Michigan.

Describing the agreement as 'the biggest one we've done yet,' Keith Coursin, chairman of the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, said the rules would free industry from the 'endless cycle of rulemaking.' ...

Makers of air conditioning and heating equipment, represented by Coursin's group, signed the agreement with the Alliance to Save Energy and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

Some measures will be sent to Congress for inclusion in upcoming energy legislation. Others can be implemented by the Energy Department without legislation or by rule-making steps outlined in the 2007 energy bill."

Jenny Mandel reports for Greenwire in the New York Times October 13, 2009,