On July 22, fifteen APGA members and fifteen AGA members were signatories to a letter to the Honorable Cathy Zoi, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The letter can be viewed on APGA’s website at www.apga.org/APGAAGADOE.   The purpose of the letter was to urge DOE not to adopt a proposed furnace standard that would create a northern regional standard of 90 percent Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) for natural gas furnaces.  The letter points out that the proposed standard would impose a costly replacement mandate on key consumer groups in the 30 affected northern states. In addition, those standards could potentially cause safety hazards for consumers who, because of the high incremental cost of converting to high AFUE furnaces, may not undertake needed furnace venting upgrades.

This letter follows APGA’s April 13, 2010, comments on DOE’s Rulemaking Analysis Plan for Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Furnaces where APGA initially objected to the 90 percent AFUE in the affected northern states.  Those comments can be viewed on the APGA website here.

For more information, please contact Bob Beauregard at 202-464-2742 or bbeauregard@apga.org.

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