The Secret Science Behind HVAC Equipment Ratings

摘要

When patients visit doctors, their medical records are kept confidential - by law. And when medical data is used to study what levels of chemicals and emissions are safe for humans, the information it's based on is kept confidential, too. But when taxpayer dollars are spent to create regulations based on information the public isn't allowed to access, some in the HVAC industry call foul. "The 'secret science' we in the HVACR and water heating industry have been dealing with is the Department of Energy's (DOE's) recent habit of justifying efficiency rulemakings on analyses only it has access to," said Francis Dietz, vice president of public affairs at the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). "We believe that such analyses, generally performed by firms under contract to the department, should be open to all stakeholders so as to enable replication and to clearly show the validity of the proposed rule's justification."