Appliance Design - February 2009 - (Page 40)

ASSOCIATION REPORT: AHRI President Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute Stephen R. Yurek he economic stresses buffeting the nation have not spared our industry. In these tough economic times, we need to deal not only with the present, but also better position ourselves for the future. There are several ways to do that. One of them is through advocacy, both in the U.S. and abroad. When the merger of the ARI and GAMA was discussed in 2007, one of the arguments for it was the ability of a combined association to commit additional resources to advocacy efforts. We have done that, and it has paid dividends already. The silver lining in this dark economic cloud, brought on partly as a result of high energy prices, was an increase in demand for energy-efficient products and technologies. And, as demand increased, Congress renewed its interest in reducing energy demand and extended expiring tax credits for highly efficient heating and cooling equipment. They even agreed to change the water heater credit formula so that some storage models could be included. They extended until 2012 the tax deduction for highly efficient buildings, which will spur demand for higherefficiency commercial products. In the past couple of years, our industry has recognized the need to be for something, rather than simply being in opposition. That can require some creativity and some courage, which we have displayed in our efforts to engage our friends in the environmental community. In past years, we have negotiated consensus agreements that can quickly be adopted as federal standards. Last year, we continued a series of Energy Efficiency Summits that draw together AHRI staff and industry members with people from environmental groups like the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and others. The summits have agendas for discussion and tasks for groups to work on together. In this way, our industry and the advocacy groups work together toward common goals, such as finding an alternative to a higher federal efficiency mandate that results in the same or higher energy saving in the equivalent period of time. In fact, in our August 2008 summit, we created a task force to work on ways to accelerate replacement of the installed base of air conditioning and heating equipment in the U.S. That task force will work on T The Challenges Ahead a list of options toward that goal and will report back to the full group at the next summit. Another way to be for something is to educate consumers about saving energy in the home. This not only helps achieve the national energy savings that have been so elusive despite all the federal mandates, but it also positions our industry as being part of the energy-saving solution. This year, we launched a campaign called the 2 Degree Pledge. The aim is to educate homeowners about ways they can be comfortable and still save energy and money by installing, maintaining, and wisely using energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment. The campaign walks homeowners through the steps they can take to make a real energy saving difference. Positioning our industry for the future abroad involves extensive interaction on a nation-bynation and regional basis. Our staff and members have spent a great deal of time in the past year and have made great progress toward harmonizing our standards and certification programs across the globe. To that end, AHRI signed agreements with ISHRAE, the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers; the China Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Association; and ANCE, the Mexican standards organization. All of those accords were aimed at harmonization or mutual recognition of standards and certification programs. These efforts and others help lay the groundwork to make it easier for our members to do business abroad. They help strengthen the prestige and wide dissemination of the AHRI’s HVAC/R certification programs. In addition to continuing our global engagement in 2009, we also will be working to harmonize our own three certification programs into a unified AHRI Certification Program with one AHRI mark. As we begin a new year, we have much work ahead of us, but none more important than engaging members of Congress and the new administration in a dialog to find concrete ways to reduce energy intensity and protect the environment, while increasing jobs, and encouraging additional manufacturing. We look forward to playing a lead role in that effort. < www.applianceDESIGN.com 40 applianceDESIGN February 2009 http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - February 2009 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Force-Sensing Technology Offers Designers an Alternative Approach to Creating Touch-Control Interfaces A Flammable Vapor Sensing Technology that was Originally Developed for use in Water Heaters has Evolved for use in a Broader Array of Applications Latches, Hinges, and Slides Must Reliably Secure Parts Together, Sometimes for Hundreds of Thousands of Cycles. Beyond their Utilitarian Functions, They Can Also Change Consumer Perceptions Elastomeric Electrical Connectors Can Solve Space Constraint Problems in Electronic Products and Provide Some Cost Advantages as Well A Multi-Layer Ceramic Capacitor with a Novel Electrode Design Can Suppress Electromagnetic Interference, Improve Circuit Performance, and Reduce the Number of Needed Components Design Marts Association Report: AHRI Advertisers’ Index

Appliance Design - February 2009

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