2023 DOE HVAC Efficiency Requirements

What you need to know!

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) enacted new energy efficiency requirements for residential and commercial air conditioners and heat pumps that went into effect on January 1, 2023. These new regulations affect code compliance for mechanical equipment regardless of the state or local code edition that has been adopted because federal appliance standards preempt state and local construction codes.

"NEW" Residential Efficiency Requirements and Test Standards

The efficiency changes for residential products can be confusing.

  • The minimum efficiency requirements and test procedures for residential equipment have been updated and improved; the new test procedures include higher external static pressures, and are intended to be more representative of real life usage.
  • DOE does not allow sell-through of residential split and packaged A/C systems in the southeast and southwest (sell-through of HP systems is permitted). “Sell-through” is the selling and installation of products meeting the old efficiency requirements as long as the products were manufactured before the effective date of the new efficiency requirements.
  • DOE’s requirements for residential products apply differently in specific regions of the United States (DOE addresses 3 regions, north, southwest, and southeast). Compliance in the north is based on date of manufacture, while compliance in the two southern regions is based on date of installation for air conditioning products and date of manufacture for heat pump products.

2023 Regional Efficiencies for Residential Systems

Minimum Efficiency Requirements by Region

"NEW" Commercial Efficiency Requirements

The efficiency changes for commercial products are fairly straightforward.

  • Commercial air conditioning and heat pump products ≥65,000 Btu/h and <760,000 Btu/h are affected.
  • The efficiency requirements are the same geographically (unlike for residential products which vary by region).
  • The commercial product IEER and COP rating metrics and testing procedures do not change.
  • Product "sell-through" based on the “Date of Manufacture” is allowed for all commercial products.

2023 Efficiencies for Commercial Systems

Minimum Efficiency Requirements

  1 Manufactured before January 1, 2023.

 

Learn more about the 2023 DOE HVAC efficiency changes

Read this background on the
New HVAC efficiency requirements

Download ICC's Guidance Document on
the New HVAC efficiency requirements

Other Resources

Talk to an Expert

 

For more information, contact Jim Cika, Director of PMG Technical Resources
at jcika@iccsafe.org.