January 2012 Newsletter

New WHPA Executive Committee and Council of Advisors Convene for First Time

The Executive Committee and Council of Advisors held their kickoff meetings at the Pasadena Hilton on November 16, 2011. Industry leaders from around the nation were in attendance and topics vital to the HVAC and energy efficiency industries were discussed and debated.

The Executive Committee voted on the Chair and Vice Chair for the Council of Advisors. Mark Lowry with Refrigeration Service Engineers Society (RSES) was selected as Chair, and Tom Garcia with California Building Officials (CALBO) was selected as Vice Chair.

A significant portion of the Council of Advisors agenda was devoted to an informative presentation by Mike Messenger of Itron Inc. who introduced Council members to several interrelated subjects including energy savings research and estimating tools, the Database for Energy Efficient Resources (DEER), and cost effectiveness tests all of which have an impact on HVAC energy efficiency program design and implementation in California. Mr. Messenger’s PowerPoint slideshow can be viewed by clicking here.

Simon Baker, Program / Branch Manager, Demand-side Programs of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said this about the lively discussion that occurred during Messenger’s presentation: “The CPUC was pleased to participate in the discussions held on the important topics of energy savings estimation and cost-effectiveness evaluation. Like the WHPA itself, the dialogue brought multiple perspectives – representing customers, contractors, ratepayers, and society – to the table. The result was some good cross-fertilization of ideas and a better understanding of the issues.  This will contribute to finding regulatory solutions that more accurately represent the value of quality installation and maintenance, as foundational HVAC strategies in the California Long-term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan.”

JANUARY 2012

Why the Leadership Structure Change?

The interim Steering Committee was restructured into the Executive Committee and Council of Advisors to represent the broadest possible set of HVAC industry participants. By having Executive Committee members be associations, rather than individual organizations, a much larger group of industry professionals is represented. 

We've gone from 26 members of the interim Steering Committee to 12 in the Executive Committee and 27 in the Council of Advisors. The Executive Committee and Council of Advisors pages list the member organizations and name of the voting individual for each.

In 2012, the WHPA will reach out to organizations such as UA Star, Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), California Energy Efficiency Industry Council, Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), International Facility Management Association (IFMA), Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), among others, to join the Council of Advisors. This will expand the dialogue and cooperation between market actors of many sectors.

Climate Optimized Building Codes
and Equipment

HVAC systems are pivotal in increasing energy efficiency, especially in the hotter and drier climates of the Western United States. California is at the center of these efforts through the Western Cooling Efficiency Center at University of California Davis. Now the Western HVAC Performance Alliance is joining these efforts through the Climate Optimized Building Codes and Equipment Subcommittee that has started meeting. The subcommittee plans to select a few new volunteers. Industry stakeholders such as manufacturers, engineers, researchers, distributors, contractors, and others are welcome to indicate their interest to join.

The primary goal is to pursue climate optimized standards and equipment in an effort to increase energy efficiency in residential and small commercial HVAC systems, and to develop and adopt a progressive set of building codes that support the deployment of peak efficient equipment.

Participants will have the opportunity to guide energy efficiency policy and energy efficiency program development. Please contact us for more information.

HVAC Action Plan Meeting

The HVAC Action Plan was formally launched at a special event at the IHACI Trade Show in November 2011.

Mark Ferron is the commissioner of energy efficiency issues with the CPUC. He was assigned in 2011 to HVAC, a top priority in California's energy efficiency Strategic Plan. In a pre-recorded video displayed at the event, Commissioner Ferron pointed out that energy efficiency is the first choice among energy resources for California, and emphasized that the knowledge and active efforts of the WHPA's broad network of champions is necessary to achieve California's energy efficiency resource potential. The video can be viewed here.

The broad-based panel had multiple WHPA members including Don Langston with ACCA, Bob Wiseman with IHACI, and Bob Baker with ASHRAE. Attendees stayed long after the presentation to discuss industry issues with the panel and each other.

Did You Know?
We've updated our HVAC Events page to include the conferences, events, and tradeshows in 2012.