Single package vertical air conditioners and heat pumps – March 2017

Technical bulletin on amending the standards

Webinar – April 2017

On March 4, 2017, Natural Resources Canada's Office of Energy Efficiency issued a Notice of Intent to amend Canada’s EnergyEfficiency Regulations (the Regulations) to align Single Package Vertical Air Conditioners (SPVACs) and Single Package Vertical Heat Pumps (SPVHPs) with standards in the United States. This technical bulletin has been released to initiate the consultation process and to collect stakeholder views on the requirements being considered for SPVACs and SPVHPs.

Input received during this stage of the process will inform the development of the Amendment 15 proposal.  In addition, the department will undertake a cost-benefit analysis using the best-available Canadian market data to assess the economic and environmental impacts of these updated standards and to ensure Canadian consumers and businesses benefit from their implementation.

The Government of Canada intends to pre-publish a regulatory proposal in the Canada Gazette, Part I, within approximately two years of this bulletin.

Background

In 2014, the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council committed to align new and updated energy efficiency standards and test standards for energy-using equipment, to the extent practicable and permitted by law.

In Canada, SPVACs and SPVHPs manufactured after January 1, 2011 are subject to the Regulations. The scope of the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) in Canada does not include an upper limit on cooling capacity, while in the United States the limit is set to 240,000 Btu/h. On September 23, 2015, the United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) issued a final rule, which increased the stringency of the MEPS and updated the testing standard.

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is considering aligning with the increased MEPS, updated testing standards, date of manufacture and scope of the U.S. DOE.

Product description

SPVACs and SPVHPs are air-cooled single packaged equipment with major components arranged vertically. Heating components are optional in SPVACs. SPVHPs use reverse cycle refrigeration as its primary heat source. This equipment can be mounted on the exterior or adjacent interior to, or through the wall.

Energy performance testing standard

NRCan is considering referencing the following energy performance testing standard:

Title 10, Part 431, Subpart F, §431.96 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations - Uniform test method for the measurement of energy efficiency of commercial air conditioners and heat pumps

Energy performance standard

Proposed MEPS  for SPVACs and SPVHPs
Product type	Cooling capacity Btu/h	Minimum efficiency requirement	Date of manufacture
Single package vertical air conditioner	<65,000 Btu/h	EER = 11.0	September 23, 2019
Single package vertical air conditioner	≥65,000 Btu/h and <135,000 Btu/h	EER = 10.0	October 9, 2015
Single package vertical air conditioner	≥135,000 Btu/h and <240,000 Btu/h	EER = 10.0	October 9, 2016
Single package vertical heat pump	<65,000 Btu/h	EER = 11.0 COP = 3.3	September 23, 2019
Single package vertical heat pump	≥65,000 Btu/h and <135,000 Btu/h	EER = 10.0 COP = 3.0	October 9, 2015
Single package vertical heat pump	≥135,000 Btu/h and <240,000 Btu/h	EER = 10.0 COP = 3.0	October 9, 2016

EER is the Energy Efficiency Ratio
COP is the Coefficient of Performance

Important dates

These regulations would come into force six months after the date of publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

NRCan proposes that for SPVACs and SPVHPs with a cooling capacity <65,000 Btu/h, the updated standards would apply to products that have been manufactured on or after September 23, 2019; for SPVACs and SPVHPs with a cooling capacity ≥65,000 and <135,000 Btu/h, the updated standards would apply to products that have been manufactured on or after October 9, 2015; for SPVACs and SPVHPs with a cooling capacity ≥135,000 and <240,000 Btu/h, the updated standards would apply to products that have been manufactured on or after October 9, 2016.

Verification requirements

There is no change proposed for the energy efficiency verification requirements for this product.

Reporting requirements

Energy efficiency report

There is no change proposed to the energy efficiency report requirements for SPVACs and SPVHPs.

Import report

There is no change to import reporting.

Comments invited

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide stakeholders with technical detail required to comment on the requirements under consideration for SPVACs and SPVHPs. 

Additional information on Canada’s Energy Efficiency Regulations including a current list of Standards Council of Canada accredited certification bodies can be found in the Department’s website.

We welcome your comments by April 21, 2017. All correspondence should be forwarded to:

Natural Resources Canada
Office of Energy Efficiency
580 Booth Street
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0E4
E-mail: nrcan.equipment.rncan@canada.ca