Air Conditioning, Heating, & Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) News

In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week, AHRI President & CEO Stephen Yurek requested the urgent assistance of the Department of State in "convincing the federal, state, and local jurisdictions in Mexico to allow continued manufacturing operations, while our members commit to adhere to strict workplace safety and health standards." Impact of inability to work Yurek explained that in addition to potentially harming customers in Mexico, "the continued inability of s...

In written testimony to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the head of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) stressed that when Congress, through S. 2754, the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, establishes a national structure to phase down the production and use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the result will be job creation and trade benefits while ensuring the continued availability of the chemicals for those industries and applicati...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), the trade association representing manufacturers of heating, water heating, air conditioning, and commercial refrigeration products and equipment expressed its appreciation to the 23 states and the District of Columbia that thus far have heeded the industry's call for "essential business" status during this health crisis. "These governors deserve the thanks of the manufacturers, distributors, contractors, engineers, and technici...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) offer tips for suddenly homebound consumers to keep their vital heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and water heating equipment operating at peak performance during this unprecedented health crisis. Keeping HVAC and water heating equipment operating properly can help homeowners cope with new demands concerning health and safety. A properly operating air conditioner, furnace, boiler, and water heater can keep occupants safe an...

Trade associations and membership societies representing North America's Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration industry requested that federal, state, and local authorities grant ‘essential business’ status to those technicians and engineers who are tasked with keeping the American people productive, healthy, and comfortable in these trying times. The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) joined with nine other organizations, representing...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) file a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit challenging the validity of a Department of Energy (DOE) regulation on commercial packaged boilers. "AHRI is asking that the Court review the rule because of our belief that the Department overstepped its statutory authority by issuing a rule that will impose an undue and significant burden on boiler manufacturers and consumers," said AHRI President & CEO S...

The Board of Directors of the Clifford H. ‘Ted’ Rees, Jr., Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), announces a partnership with SkillsUSA, expanding the long-standing scholarship program designed for students pursuing a career in the HVACR and water heating industry. With more than 365,000 members nationwide, SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers, and industry working together to ensur...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) express its continued strong support for a Department of Energy (DOE) rule submitted to the Federal Register that would set forth updated procedures for the Department to follow in its rulemaking activities. The procedures for use in new or revised energy conservation standards and test procedures for consumer products and commercial/industrial equipment rule, more commonly known as the process rule, outlines binding rules that D...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) expressed strong support for legislation introduced in the House of Representatives by Representatives Paul Tonko (D-NY), Pete Olson (R-TX), Scott Peters (D-CA), and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) that would boost American manufacturing of next-generation refrigerant technologies, promote American technology, and create tens of thousands of new jobs. The American Innovation and Manufacturing Leadership Act, HR 5544, would bring about a ph...

The Clifford H. ‘Te’ Rees, Jr. Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), announces scholarship awards totaling $85,500 to 49 students, including seven military veterans, studying to become technicians in the HVACR and water heating industry. "We are pleased to award scholarships to these qualified and dedicated students and veterans, and we lo...

Advocates for newly introduced legislation to reduce hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants will conduct a six-figure media campaign over the next week urging Senators to support the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act (S. 2754). The campaign will be led by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), the HVACR industry's trade association, with support from the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy. The legislation, introduced in October by Sens. John Kenn...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) will host four free educational sessions at the AHR Expo, taking place February 3-5, 2019, in Orlando. No pre-registration is required and all sessions will take place at the Orange County Convention Center. Visit AHRI in the West Hall at booth 3300, where they’ll showcase the member companies and certification program participants, share information about the world-class standards and certification program, and provide det...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) held its inaugural Leadership Forum November 10-12 in Puerto Rico, during which it elected its new officers and presented awards to industry leaders. "The dedication of these industry leaders makes it possible for AHRI to continue to be the recognized voice of the industry and a reliable source for information," said AHRI President and CEO Stephen Yurek. "We are very grateful for their service to AHRI and the HVACR and water heat...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) expressed its strong support for bipartisan legislation designed to boost American manufacturing and capture a larger share of the rapidly growing global markets for refrigeration and air conditioning products and equipment. Introduced by Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.), The American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2019 would authorize the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a national phase-down s...

In a letter sent to the leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, 32 members of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and the Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy, urging support for proposed federal legislation to establish a national structure for the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants. Fluorocarbon Technology Development U.S. companies that produce and use fluoroca...

The Clifford H. "Ted" Rees, Jr. Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) announced scholarship awards totaling $62,000 to 36 students, including five military veterans, studying to become technicians in the HVACR and water heating industry. "We are pleased to award scholarships to these qualified and dedicated students and veterans, and we look forward to...

Significant changes to refrigerant container color protocol will commence in January 2020, as outlined in the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute’s (AHRI) Guideline N, Assignment of Refrigerant Container Colors. Guideline revisions, first published in 2015, specify that all refrigerant containers should have the same paint color, RAL 7044, to reduce confusion among similarly colored refrigerant containers. Preventing safety issues “Misidentifying refrigeran...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Technology Institute (AHRTI), the research arm of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), released the results of a benchmarking study on A3 refrigerant R290, which evaluated the potential risks of R290 leaks and ignitions in a whole room-scale setting. All the tests were conducted by AHRTI's subcontractor UL under the supervision of a technical committee consisting of industry experts from AHRI member companies and sta...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) offered its support for the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, introduced by Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). "This bill would implement several energy efficiency measures across the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors," said AHRI Vice President of Government Relations Samantha Slater. "Initiatives outlined in the legislation would enable our member companies to leverage priv...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and UN Environment completed the first round of training sessions for the Refrigerant Driving License (RDL), a global refrigerant management initiative on June 24-27 in Kigali, Rwanda. This pilot stage initiates a global program to help Article 5 (developing) countries transition to alternative refrigerants under the Montreal Protocol Kigali Amendment’s hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) phasedown schedule. First pilot program &ldqu...

The Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) announced that it has submitted comments to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), in opposition to a fourth round of Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports. Section 301 tariffs on Chinese imports The comments, which were in response to a May 17 Federal Register notice, echoed AHRI’s previous opposing comments (Round 1, Round 2, Round 3), re-emphasizing that the tariffs limit member company access to...

On March 19, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a Federal Register notice announcing a list of products given a one-year extension on current tariff exclusions granted in this Federal Register notice, dated March 25, 2019. This batch of exclusions was the second of those announced by the USTR and part of the first round of Section 301 tariffs on $34 billion worth of products imported from China; they are set to expire on March 25, 2020...

The following statement regarding the pre-publication release by the Department of Energy (DOE) of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the Process Rule can be attributed to Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute’s (AHRI) President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Stephen Yurek. He said, “As the trade association representing manufacturers of HVACR and water heating equipment, we work closely with the Department of Energy, as it fulfills its Congressionally-mandate...

The Clifford H. "Ted" Rees, Jr. Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c) (3) charitable foundation of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), and the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) announced scholarship awards totaling $65,000 to 39 students, including five military veteran program recipients, studying to become technicians in the HVACR and water heating industry. Promoting HVACR careers “We are pleased to award scholarships to these qualified and dedic...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) announced the appointment of Samantha Slater to head its federal and state legislative activities as Vice President, Government Affairs. Experience  Slater comes to AHRI from the Renewable Fuels Association, where she was lead lobbyist for the past 10 years, with accomplishments that included preserving ethanol's role in the federal renewable fuels standard as well as the federal tax credit for ethanol. Slater has spent mo...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) held its inaugural Leadership Forum November 11-13 in Tucson, Ariz., during which it elected its new officers and presented awards to industry leaders. "Without these dedicated industry leaders, AHRI would not be the recognized voice of the industry and reliable source for information," said AHRI President and CEO Stephen Yurek. "We are very grateful for their service to AHRI and the HVACR and water heating industry." New appoin...

The following statement regarding the letter released by House Democrats to Energy Secretary Rick Perry seeking information on the Department's Appliance Standards Program can be attributed to Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) President & CEO Stephen Yurek: “As the trade association representing manufacturers of HVACR and water heating equipment, we are working closely with both sides of the aisle in Congress, as well as with the White House and the Departm...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) will host three educational sessions at the AHR Expo, taking place January 14–16, 2019, in Atlanta, Georgia. The sessions are free and no pre-registration is required. AHRI Directory of Certified Product Performance — Workshop 1/15/19, 1:00 PM — 4:00 PM Convention Center Room B214 The Importance of Humidity in Modern Buildings (1 LU Hour) 1/15/2019, 9:00 AM — 10:00 AM Convention Center Room B316 Atte...

Homeowners who have experienced flood damage from the recent hurricanes and tropical storms are advised to take important safety precautions about their home’s heating and cooling systems, according to the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), the trade association representing manufacturers of HVACR and water heating equipment. “Standing water in a yard, house, or basement can damage a home’s heating, cooling, and water heating equipment in ways that...

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Technology Institute (AHRTI), the research arm of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for a $2.1 million funding award to conduct essential research on low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. AHRTI will lead a research program in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). "This res...