The new DSIRE tool can be found at www.acca.org/consumer/dsire, and it allows contractors and consumers to locate HVACR energy efficiency incentives in their local area. Unlike the National DSIRE website, which is ongoing project of North Carolina State University and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, ACCA’s DSIRE tool allows users to search for incentives by zip code, sector, or technology.

“This new HVACR specific DSIRE tool is a great way for ACCA to help its members and their consumers find available energy efficiency incentives in their area without a lot of effort,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, ACCA president and CEO. “While energy efficiency upgrades save money over time, the initial cost can make some customers nervous, so having a list of incentives available will help contractors assist their customers make the right decision and save money now and in the future.”

Contractors and consumers can use the ACCA’s HVACR DSIRE tool by going to www.acca.org/consumer/dsire. For more information on this new feature, email Emily Rogers at emily.rogers@acca.org.

For August 2011, the CCI is 53. The results also show that contractors are not feeling as confident as they were 12 months earlier when the CCI was 61.

The CCI is calculated based on a survey of the association’s contractor members, who are asked how positive they feel about new business prospects, existing business activity, and expected staffing decisions in the short-term future. Weighted and averaged into one number, a CCI of 50 or above reflects anticipated growth.

The CCI is released prior to the start of each month; the next index number will be released during the last week of September.

Murphy has over 30 years of sales and marketing experience and previously worked for the National Association of Home Care & Hospice and CareWatch.

“Tom has a wealth of experience working in association sales that will help ACCA move to the next level of success,” said Kevin Holland, senior vice president, business operations & membership. “We are extremely pleased to have him join our staff and look forward to seeing our programs grow with his help.”

In his new position, Murphy will oversee the corporate partner program, exhibit sales, advertising, and sponsorships.

Tom can be reached at 703-824-8875 or tom.murphy@acca.org.

For July 2011, the CCI is 63, which is slightly lower when compared to a year earlier when the CCI was 64.

The CCI is calculated based on a survey of the association’s contractor members, who are asked how positive they feel about new business prospects, existing business activity, and expected staffing decisions in the short-term future. Weighted and averaged into one number, a CCI of 50 or above reflects anticipated growth.

The CCI is released prior to the start of each month; the next index number will be released during the last week of August.

For the second year, ACCA is bringing together four unique learning events in one location over four days. By holding these events at the same time, it allows contractors in a number of fields to come together for specialized training and networking. By having the meetings together over the course of one week, participants gain a number of options for expanding their leadership skills. Contractors can attend one event, or choose specially-priced packages for two events or even the whole week.

Contracting Week 2011 is presented by ACCA in partnership with the Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration NEWS. The events of Contracting Week 2011 will be held at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee from October 18-21, 2011. Registration is now open, along with program information, at www.contractingweek.com.

Kicking off the week on October 18 and 19 are two new events, the Technology and Business Systems Forum and the Geothermal Contracting Roundtable.

The Technology and Business Systems Forum is a two day event that is for contractors, not geeks! It is aimed at contracting business owners, operations managers, office managers, service and sales managers — NOT technology geeks. We’ll offer a wide variety of sessions led by contractors and experts, explaining in plain-English language what these new tools do, if you should use them, and if so, how to use them right. Some of the topics that will be covered are:

• Improving Profitability: Connecting Technology, People and Performance
• Redesigning & Upgrading Your Website
• Straight Talk on Technology & Business Solutions
• To the Cloud and Beyond

The Geothermal Contracting Roundtable is a unique and intense one day event geared towards businesses that design, install, and maintain geothermal systems. This full day, interactive learning experience will bring you together with the top geothermal contractors and leaders in the industry to share best practices, innovative ideas, and practical solutions to give you a competitive edge. Some of the topics that will be covered are:

• Designing Drilling Fields for Maximum Efficiency
• Selling and Financing Geothermal Systems
• Shrinking the Geothermal Footprint
• Drilling Down Drilling Relationship

On October 20 and 21, the 4th Annual National HVACR Service Managers Forum, which has developed into ACCA’s most popular managers meeting, returns with a new series of networking events and seminars led by service managers and contractors from all over the country focused on management skills, team development, and lead generation. And for the first time this year, the forum will feature 12 unique learning labs to choose from, providing a more customized learning experience. Some of the topics that will be covered are:

• Are You Maximizing the Value of Each Service and Maintenance Call?
• Timing is Everything! Hiring the Right People at the Right Time
• From Team Member to Boss – Making a Successful Transition
• Creating a Culture of Integrity & Profitability within Your Service Company

The 8th Annual Commercial Contracting Roundtable will also be held October 20 and 21. This intensive schedule of learning labs focuses on the leadership skills you need to succeed with commercial service and sales innovation. You’ll spend time with top contractors, management experts, and industry innovators who have come together in this unique forum to help you meet and exceed all your business goals. The focus is on the big picture at this event, offering commercial firm owners and executives a chance to enhance their leadership skills and grow their businesses in a challenging environment. Some of the topics that will be covered are:

• The Business of Energy
• How to Enhance the Value of Your HVAC Company
• High Quality/High Performance – How Corporate Culture Impacts Organizational Success
• Foundation for Growing Commercial Service

Registration is now open for all four events held during Contracting Week at www.contractingweek.com or by calling 703-824-8856. There are also specially-priced packages available, allowing participants to sign up for two events or the whole week. Early bird registration, with a $50 discount, is available until July 31.

Limited sponsorship opportunities are also available for each event; for display and sponsorship info, contact Kimberly Hurley at 703-824-8861 or kimberly.hurley@acca.org.

The rule creates two standards for heating appliances, one National Standard and one Northern Region standard. Under the proposed rule, condensing furnaces will be required in the Northern Region starting May 1, 2013.

The rule also creates three regions for cooling appliances, a National standard, a Southeastern Region standard, and a Southwestern Region standard. The National standard and Southeastern Region standards for cooling appliances use a single SEER value. The standard in the Southwestern Region must meet a minimum SEER and EER value.

Once these rules are finalized, DOE has 90 days to initiate a rulemaking to develop an enforcement plan for the regional standards.

Below are some key elements of the new rule. For more detailed information, see the rule in its entirety:

Starting May 1, 2013, gas furnaces installed in the Northern Region will have to be at least 90% AFUE. The states included in the Northern Region are: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Gas furnaces installed in all other states must be at least 80% AFUE.

Starting January 1, 2015, split system central air conditioners installed in the Southeastern Region must be at least 14 SEER. The Southeastern Region includes: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Starting January 1, 2015, split systems central air conditioners installed in the Southwestern Region must be a minimum 14 SEER and 12.2 EER. The Southeastern Region contains the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, and New Mexico.

Starting January 1, 2015, the standard for split system central air conditioners installed in all other states will not change and must still meet the 13 SEER requirement.

Starting January 1, 2015, the new minimum efficiency standard for split system heat pumps is 14 SEER and 8.2 HSPF, but there are not regional standards for heat pumps, only one national standard.

ACCA staff is in the process of reviewing the Direct Final Rule and will submit comments to the DOE before the October 17 deadline. ACCA will also be providing information on how others in the HVACR industry can submit their own comments to the DOE.

If you have any questions on the process, please email charlie.mccrudden@acca.org.

Last month, as a result of comments filed by ACCA in January, the DOE changed its position and announced a second public comment period for the proposed Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Upgrades would take place in early June. So far, there has been no clear information about this second public review nor has an updated version of the Workforce Guidelines been made available.

The coalition also expressed concerns that the selection process for the independent body to certify the workforce as carried out by the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Lab failed to conform to competitive procurement rules. While the certifying body has not been announced, the coalition believes a secret deal is another example of how the entire process to develop and administer the Workforce Guidelines has been flawed since the beginning.

Finally, the coalition questioned why Pacific Northwest National Lab (PNNL), another DOE national energy lab, is providing the resources to host an automated online standards notice and comment tool for the Building Performance Institute at http://bpi.pnl.gov/forum.php.

ACCA is extremely concerned with the pace and haste in which the DOE is moving on this issue and the significant impacts it could have on contractors of the HVACR industry.

“We and our partners from across the home retrofit industry stand ready to work with the federal government to develop meaningful guidelines and standards, but right now the process is so flawed that these ‘guidelines’ will be questionable and a colossal waste of taxpayer money,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, ACCA president and CEO.

ACCA will continue to monitor this process and submit comments when the second public review begins.

For June 2011, the CCI is 66, which is a little lower than a year ago, when the CCI was 69.

The CCI is calculated based on a survey of the association’s contractor members, who are asked how positive they feel about new business prospects, existing business activity, and expected staffing decisions in the short-term future. Weighted and averaged into one number, a CCI of 50 or above reflects anticipated growth.

The CCI is released prior to the start of each month; the next index number will be released during the last week of July.

A thorough review of Standard 180-2008 has resulted in improvements, revisions and updates to the tables in Section 5, Required Inspection and Maintenance Tasks. This proposed addendum makes changes deemed necessary to eliminate duplication, list equipment tables in alphabetical order for easier reference, and to consolidate similar equipment where appropriate.

The proposed addendum to this standard is referenced as BSR/ASHRAE/ACCA Addendum a to ANSI/ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 180-2008 and can be downloaded athttp://www.ashrae.org/technology/page/331. Comments can be submitted (with copy to BSR) to: Online Comment Database at http://www.ashrae.org/technology/page/331.

This proposed standard identifies the metrics, tolerances, approved procedures, and required documentation to (1) evaluate the current performance, (2) establish the basis to create performance improvement specifications, (3) identify approved approaches to  implement the specified improvements, (4) and establish the procedures to objectively assess the performance change of the completed improvements.

Changes to the current standard for this 2^nd public review are indicated in the text by underline (for additions) and strikethrough (for deletions).  The changes to the normative portions of the standard (§1 – §7 and Appendix A) are open for review and comment.  Unchanged portions of the document are provided for context.

This proposed standard is referenced as BSR/ACCA 12 EHEPI-201x; it and the required response form can be downloaded at http://www.acca.org/industry/ansi-standards/under-review. Comments must be submitted on the response form in accordance with the instructions on the form.  Comment response forms and questions for this second public review must be addressed to Dick Shaw standards-sec@acca.org