Energy efficiency should be one of the highest lifecycle considerations for economic and environmental performance of commercial and industrial air systems. We at AMCA are involved in energy efficiency programs on a variety of levels, depending on the regional interests of our members:
United States
In the U.S., AMCA International is active in the development of model energy codes and standards, utility rebate programs and government regulations. AMCA believes that all of these areas are interrelated that overly stringent federal regulations leave little flexibility for model codes and standards to address the needs of local jurisdictions. Futhermore, we believe such regulations would ultim©at2e0ly18staArIvRe MutiOlitVyEreMbEatNeTprAoNgrDamCsO, NTROL ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL, INC. preventing them from the reaching reasonable benchmarks needed to drive returns-on-investment for higher efficiency products.
DOE Fan Efficiency Rulemaking: The U.S. Department of Energy Appliance and Equipment Standards Program is currently developing an efficiency regulation for commercial and industrial fans and blowers. AMCA is fully engaged in this process by working with other stakeholders to develop a joint recommendation to DOE on what the regulation would look like and how it would be enforced.
- DOE Regulation Initiative
- DOE Rulemaking Docket
Model Codes & Standards for Energy Efficiency & Green Construction: AMCA is active on codes and standards committees that are adopting and refining provisions covering fan efficiency. AMCA Standard 205, Energy Efficiency Classification for Fans, is the reference standard for provisions in International Green Construction Code (2012), ASHRAE 90.1-2013, ASHRAE 189.1-2014 and International Energy Conservation Code (2015).
- Fan Efficiency Provisions
- ASHRAE Journal Article
Rebate Programs: AMCA is committed to the development of utility rebate programs for commercial and industrial fans because we believe that stimulating flexible, voluntary market forces will lead to more energy savings than regulatory approaches can procure. We are among the industrial groups represented in Extended Motor Product Label Initiative (EMPLI), led by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). We expect pilot rebate programs to be developed by 2015 and rolled out nationally in 2016.
Education and Training: AMCA is developing education and training resources for manufacturers, consulting engineers, contractors, commissioning providers, building owners and code officials. A large body of technical articles already exists at no charge at Efficiency Resources.
Europe:
The European Commission has enacted a regulation for fan efficiency around the ISO Standard 12759, Fans Efficiency Classification for Fans, and the efficiency metric, fan motor efficiency grade (FMEG). The regulation, EC 327/2011 became effective on the first of January, 2012, and is currently undergoing a revision cycle.
Resources:
- Fan Motor Efficiency Grades
- ISO 12759
- EC 327 Revision Cycle
- European AMCA Blog
Asia:
Asia AMCA is tracking the development of energy efficiency regulations throughout Asia. Also, some members of AMCA International located in Asia are certifying fans for fan efficiency grade (FEG) ratings.
Resources:
- Asia Fan Regulations Table
- Fan Efficiency Regulations
- AMCA FEG Finder
