AMCA Advocacy—'A New Era for the Fan Industry’: California Approves Efficiency Regulation

By Scott Arnold, AMCA Manager, Industry Content

The California Energy Commission (CEC) on Nov. 16 approved a long-in-the-works efficiency regulation for commercial and industrial fans and blowers as part of the state’s Title 20 appliance-efficiency regulations. Manufacturers of equipment covered by the regulation have until Nov. 1, 2023, to comply.

“The CEC regulation marks a new era for the fan industry,” AMCA Senior Director, Global Affairs Michael Ivanovich said. “AMCA members worked very hard to help shape the regulation, which AMCA believes is fair, achievable, and enforceable and will result in substantial energy and carbon savings.”

The regulation includes a test procedure, a minimum-efficiency requirement, and compliance-filing and product-marking provisions. The regulatory metric is the fan energy index as calculated using ANSI/AMCA Standard 214-21, Test Procedure for Calculating Fan Energy Index (FEI) for Commercial and Industrial Fans and Blowers.

The regulation applies to commercial and industrial fans and blowers rated with at least 1-hp fan shaft power or rated with at least 1-kW electrical power but no more than 150 air horsepower. Exceptions include air-curtain units, ceiling and other types of circulating fans, fans embedded in equipment performing duties other than air movement, safety fans (meeting a specified definition), crossflow fans, and induced-flow fans.

All fans and blowers sold in California that are in the scope of the regulation must meet the requirements regardless of where they are manufactured.

The AMCA North America Region Air Movement Advocacy Committee (formerly Air Movement Code Action and Review Committee [AMCARC]) had been engaged in the development of the regulation since the rulemaking began in 2017, picking up where the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) left off when public negotiations for a federal regulation concluded in 2015. The DOE rulemaking, which began in 2011, has resumed and appears on track for completion in 2023.

AMCA is working with the CEC and California investor-owned utilities to develop compliance and education resources for AMCA members and California consumers. AMCA also is investigating how to evolve service offerings for members filing compliance data.

AMCA will alert members when the CEC publishes the final regulation language. Until then, members can access the latest “express terms” language posted by the CEC in September.

California estimates the regulation will save Californians 1.7 terawatt-hours, 17 million megawatt-hours, 0.06 quad, or nearly 40 million tons of coal per year.

AMCA staff will schedule a members-only webinar to discuss the regulation, its impacts on member companies, and compliance-filing services in December.

For more information about the regulation, contact Ivanovich at [email protected].