HVAC Stakeholders Discuss Key Issues in November Meetings

November Executive Committee and Council of Advisors Meeting Held in Pasadena, CA

The WHPA Executive Committee (EC) and Council of Advisors (COA) met for a joint session on Wednesday, November 14, in Pasadena, California at the annual trade show of the Institute of Heating and Air Conditioning Industries (IHACI). The twenty EC and COA members in attendance represented a diverse group of organizations in the HVAC and energy efficiency industries.

Nils Strindberg of the Energy Division, California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) presented on HVAC Energy Savings Updates, including the HVAC Research Roadmap. James Tuleya, EC Chair, introduced this topic, “This set of research will provide information to improve existing programs and design new ones, plus help to better establish what credit the utilities get for energy savings from these programs. The goal of the HVAC Research Roadmap is to drive fact-based decisions based on the data from the market and what is happening with ratepayer-funded and industry research programs.”

The next steps are for the Energy Division to present the finalized research plan at another public forum and then make a decision about the final version of this research plan for the next two years.

The set of EC-designated WHPA Key Initiatives were presented and a lively interaction occurred with the meeting participants. (See “WHPA Key Initiatives” article for more details).

Tom Garcia, CALBO's spokesman in the WHPA and Chair of the Compliance Committee, updated those assembled on the status of the Committee's recently established goals. Seven goals were identified. Goals 1 through 3 had been established as front burner issues to be addressed by the Committee. Other delivery channels and "champions" for goals 4 through 6 are being explored by the Committee. Goal 7 has been put on hold. 

Mr. Garcia's PowerPoint slides (amended to reflect his oral remarks during the presentation) can be viewed here.

New WHPA Members Welcomed in 2012

• ABR Co.
• ACCA-AZ
• Ace Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.
• Action Duct Cleaning
• ASI Controls
• Barrett Consulting Associates, Inc.
• BELIMO Aircontrols, Ind.
• BNB Consulting Services
• Cal Poly Pomona
• ConSol
• ContractorSelling.com
• Decision Analyst, Inc.
• EPRI
• Ezenics, Inc.
• HVAC Armor LLC
• InfoPlast
• Jane Coombs, CPA
• Key Marketing Group, Inc.
• MAS Service
• MountainLogic, Inc.
• NADCA
• NEBB
• NEMI
• No. California. Valley Sheet Metal Workers Training Center
• Pepper Hunziker, Consultant
• Purdue University
• Trane
• TURN
• UC Berkeley Labor Center
• United Technologies Research Center
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Warm Thoughts Communications
• ZONEFIRST

Big Attendance at the HVAC Public Forum

A Public Forum also was held on November 14 in order to provide perspectives on ratepayer-funded HVAC programs and other HVAC efficiency issues to the California Public Utilities Commission's Energy Division (CPUC ED). The panel consisted of CPUC ED and utility representatives as well as WHPA Executive Committee member organizations.

More than 100 people attended the event in person, many of whom were visiting the IHACI trade show at the same location.  A conference line was held for remote participation.

There was vibrant dialogue throughout the session. It was clear that the participants had valuable input and that the panel was eager to listen. The forum was deemed a success by many involved.

Questions were asked about the Energy Upgrade program, contractors who don’t pull permits, rebates, and much more. Please read the Public Forum notes for a transcript of the questions and responses. 

WHPA Key Initiatives

The Key Initiatives project was created to identify and prioritize a clear set of initiatives that would receive additional attention from the WHPA, to supplement the regular ongoing efforts of the WHPA committees and working groups. Each initiative has the macro goal of improving HVAC energy efficiency.

The list was developed through interviews with WHPA members including industry stakeholders, utilities, and the CPUC, conducted by WHPA Senior Advisors Paul Kyllo and Dale Gustavson during the first half of 2012.

A list of more than 20 potential initiatives was collected, and a scoring mechanism developed.  The initiatives were reviewed in the August 2012 Executive Committee meeting and the following “Key Initiatives” were selected by vote of the Executive Committee.