Make the most of your ACCA
Membership by joining an ACCA Committee to help us define and produce resources, events, products, and services.
Join a Committee
acca.org/acca-committees
Conversely, some state legislatures are passing legislation
that prevents municipalities in the state from enacting local energy limitations, like natural gas bans, often arguing in favor of consumer choice. ACCA’s official stance is that contractors should have access to whatever fuel source makes the most sense to them from a business perspective and has supported such fuel-choice bills.
Many of these electric regulations
“ Customers are paying much more attention to
the mechanical systems in their home and are asking about electrification. Customers don’t always have a full-fledged idea of what they want or need.” So HVAC contractors need to be prepared to have a conversation with “an educated approach to home comfort.
” —Allison Hale
affect new construction or extensive renovations, but on the commercial side, “What could be much more transformative are these building performance standards that we’re seeing,” says Mark Lessans, senior director for sustainability and regu- latory affairs at Johnson Controls (headquartered in Cork, Ireland. Lessans is based in Washington, DC). These regulations generally limit a building’s carbon emissions per square foot with potentially hefty fines for noncompliance. He predicts more retrofits happening in the commercial space, naming Washington, DC, and New York City as two forerunners in these regula- tions. “Electrification doesn’t show any
signs of slowing down,” says Les- sans, and two things are happening in tandem: “One is that heat pump technology, especially in colder cli- mates and in various applications,
has been getting better. And two, the accelerated response to climate change, coupled with the decarbonization of the electric grid, is now driving us to heat pumps because they’re so efficient and they run on electricity, which is a critical solution that we’re going to rely on to decarbonize the built environment.” What does all this mean for an HVAC contractor?
What Contractors Need to Know
For one, “Customers are paying much more attention to the mechanical systems in their home and are asking about electri- fication,” says Allison Hale, operations manager at SOS Mechani- cal in Round Rock, Texas. “Customers don’t always have a
24
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41
