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Moving the Air-Systems Industry Forward

AMCA International is committed to promoting and defending the cause of efficient, healthy, and safe buildings. Largely, this is accomplished through participation in the development and refinement of codes, standards, and regulations and the education and information of decision-makers and practitioners. Though technologies and policies impacting air systems are ever-evolving, AMCA International’s advocacy priorities and initiatives remain focused in three main areas: energy efficiency, fire and life safety, and system-level performance.

AMCA Advocacy Program

With whom to talk:
Michael Ivanovich, Senior Director, Global Affairs
Phone: +1 (847) 704-6340
Email: mivanovich@amca.org

AMCA International currently is active
in the following industry initiatives or issues:

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Energy Efficiency
High-Performance Air Systems
Fire & Life Safety
California Prop 65
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Energy efficiency and system performance are inextricably linked. An energy-efficient air system is a high-performing one, providing good comfort, indoor-air quality, and acoustics, with optimum service life and minimum carbon emissions contributing to climate change.

AMCA International believes that, by collaborating with energy-efficiency organizations, government agencies, and other stakeholders, a meaningful and cost-effective mix of voluntary and regulatory energy-efficiency measures can be achieved. Further, AMCA International believes it is vital that manufacturers and industry design professionals evolve their products and practices to incorporate the latest standards, technologies, and tools.


United States

In the United States, AMCA is active in the development of model energy codes and standards, utility rebate programs, and government regulations, which it sees as interrelated. AMCA believes overly stringent federal regulations leave little flexibility for model codes and standards to address the needs of local jurisdictions and ultimately starve utility rebate programs, preventing them from reaching the reasonable benchmarks needed to drive returns on investment for higher-efficiency products.

DOE fan-efficiency rulemaking: In June 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiated a rulemaking for commercial and industrial fans and blowers. At the time, fan efficiency grade (FEG) was the established metric for fan-efficiency provisions in model energy codes and standards. In February 2013, however, the DOE released a rulemaking framework indicating a preference for a metric based on electrical power consumption, a departure from FEG. AMCA and its members then went about developing a new fan-efficiency metric, fan energy index (FEI). Although finalization of a federal regulation has been postponed, FEI is making its way into model energy codes and standards: the 2019 edition of ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, and, expectedly, the 2020 edition of ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, and the 2021 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). What’s more, FEI has been proposed for California Title 24 building energy-efficiency standards and Title 20 appliance-efficiency regulations.

Learn More About FEI

Model codes and standards for energy efficiency and green construction: AMCA is active on codes and standards committees that are adopting and refining provisions covering fan efficiency. AMCA Standard 205, Energy Efficiency Classification for Fans, is the reference standard for provisions in the International Green Construction Code, ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1, ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES 189.1, and the IECC.

Rebate programs: AMCA is committed to the development of utility rebate programs for commercial and industrial fans, believing that stimulating flexible, voluntary market forces will have a greater impact on energy savings than regulatory approaches will.

Education and training: AMCA maintains an ever-growing library of educational and training resources for manufacturers, consulting engineers, contractors, commissioning providers, building owners, and code officials.


Asia

Asia AMCA is tracking the development of energy-efficiency regulations throughout Asia. Also, members of AMCA International located in Asia are certifying fans for FEG ratings.

Europe

The European Commission sees ecodesign as the most effective way to improve the efficiency of energy-related products, reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and contribute to the commission’s 2050 decarbonization strategy.

Regulation 327, which contains ecodesign requirements for fans, is undergoing revision and is expected to be adopted in 2020. Taking into account the general political landscape, AMCA predicts additional energy-saving requirements will be introduced. Additionally, more detailed definitions of small, medium, large, and extra-large fans could be proposed for clarification and perhaps to expand the scope of application. Further changes could come in the form of improved market surveillance from strengthened cooperation between member-state authorities and new initiatives concerning energy-efficiency measurement.

In 2019, a stakeholder meeting was held in Brussels, Belgium, to kick-start a study of possible revisions to Regulation 1253, which contains ecodesign requirements for ventilation units. The study, which will run until June 2020, will assess the possibility of expanding the scope to cover unidirectional units with an electric input of less than 30 W per air stream and bidirectional units with a total electric input for fans of less than 30 W per air stream. Also, verification tolerances will be evaluated and an additional set of tighter requirements explored.

By integrating new requirements and technologies, the HVAC sector will play a significant role in meeting objectives of the Paris Agreement, with AMCA contributing to the development of necessary legislative measures.


Middle East

The last two decades has been a time of remarkable economic and social change in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With the country’s transformation into one of the world’s tourism, investment, and logistics hubs has come intensified interest in sustainable development. In 2010, the UAE Cabinet adopted green- and sustainable-building standards that are expected to save AED 10 billion ($2.72 billion) and reduce carbon emissions by about 30 percent by 2030. And in UAE Vision 2021, a roadmap to make the UAE “among the best countries in the world” by its 50th birthday in 2021, “sustainable environment and infrastructure” is one of six national priorities.

The UAE is firmly on course to achieve its sustainability goals, with the building sector supporting the move with credible action on the ground. AMCA is doing its part, giving a voice to the air-movement-and-control industry.

Over the last decade, perhaps no ventilation-system type has seen more innovation and greater advances than the variable-air-volume (VAV) system. Through application of best practices and the use of modern components, a new generation of VAV system has emerged: the high-performance air system (HPAS).

Usually consisting of a chiller, an air handler, and terminal units or a chiller and fan coils, a modern HPAS provides advantages such as individual temperature zoning and high-efficiency filtration of 100 percent of both outside air and recirculated air. It radically improves energy efficiency with features including aggressive supply-air-temperature and chilled-water-temperature reset, demand-control ventilation, integrated economizing with heat recovery, separation of return-air and outside-air treatment in humid climates, exhaust energy recovery where appropriate, and heat-pump-chiller building-wide heat recovery and optional 100-percent electric operation.

AMCA believes HPAS are the most cost-efficient means of providing high levels of comfort and ventilation in commercial spaces. It asks buildings professionals:

  • When comparing a central air system to alternatives, to insist the central air system be modeled to the latest best practices, not an outmoded “baseline” minimum-performance VAV system.
  • To recognize the benefits of lowest cost of ownership when designing a HPAS.
  • To resist code proposals that declare technology winners and limit technology choices.
  • To have the latest HPAS code updates in ANSI/ASHRAE/IES 90.1, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, and the controls sequences in ASHRAE Guideline 36, High Performance Sequences of Operation for HVAC Systems, made part of their local building code.

The following are resources regarding HPAS:

AMCA inmotion articles:

HPAC Engineering Magazine's Association Solutions

Technical Articles



Case Studies

White Papers

Powerpoint Presentations

For more information, or to make comments about this web page, contact Michael Ivanovich, Director of Industry Relations, AMCA International, at mivanovich@amca.org.

AMCA International is a strong proponent of balanced fire protection, the mix of active and passive fire-safety measures.

Active fire-safety measures are designed to suppress or extinguish fire, while passive fire-safety measures are designed to prevent the spread of fire and smoke, the leading cause of death from fire.

Commonly, passive forms of fire protection are traded off for active ones. These trade-offs historically have had more to do with cost saving than performance and lack support from technical research.

AMCA International’s position is that no one measure guarantees protection in the event of a fire. With a balanced approach to fire safety, protection of people and property is not reliant on a single measure; multiple safeguards are in place in the event a measure fails or otherwise is ineffective.


Activity

AMCA International is active in the development and refinement of codes and standards affecting fire and life safety in buildings, including:

  • NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives.
  • NFPA 90A, Standard for the Installation of Air-Conditioning and Ventilating Systems.
  • NFPA 90B, Standard for the Installation of Warm Air Heating and Air-Conditioning Systems.
  • NFPA 92, Standard for Smoke Control Systems.
  • NFPA 101, Life Safety Code.
  • NFPA 105, Standard for Smoke Door Assemblies and Other Opening Protectives.
  • NFPA 204, Standard for Smoke and Heat Venting.
  • NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code.


Calls to Action
  • Fire-protection requirements vary according to building characteristics. Know your facility, including its use and occupancy, height and area limitations, and materials of construction.
  • Understand how fire-protection systems interface with other major building systems and each other.

Resources


California Proposition 65

The official name of Proposition 65 is the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.

Proposition 65 requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. These chemicals can be in the products that Californians purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment. By requiring that this information be provided, Proposition 65 enables Californians to make informed decisions about their exposures to these chemicals.

Proposition 65 requires California to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. This list, which must be updated at least once a year, has grown to include approximately 900 chemicals since it was first published in 1987.

AMCA members that sell products in California are required to comply with Proposition 65. The following guidance is provided to AMCA members to help them understand and comply with Proposition 65. For more information about Proposition 65, visit the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) at https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65.

Prop 65 Materials

AMCA FAQs about California Proposition 65


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