AHRI Certification Program Expands Test Conditions to Enable Greater Global Efficiency

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) announced that it is implementing a wide range of test conditions in certain of its globally recognized, industry respected certification programs to help promote global energy efficiency; to suit varying global environmental conditions and regional needs; to align itself with local, regional, and international regulations; and to address requirements of its members and certification program participants.

In addition to the standard T1 test conditions (35°C outdoor dry-bulb), AHRI has been introducing the T3 test conditions (46°C outdoor dry-bulb) and T4-Kuwait (48°C) with operability tests at 52°C for a large range of “tropical” air conditioning products in the high ambient temperature (HAT) countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

With T3 ratings already available for applied products such as air-cooled and water-cooled chillers, and in direct expansion products such as ducted split systems, packaged rooftop units in both residential and commercial segments, and inverter-type residential units, AHRI continues to expand the T3 ratings to other products, such as VRF. These actions and many others are why a growing number of entities around the world are relying on AHRI Certified products and equipment, which have provided performance assurance for more than 60 years across 40 programs and with more than 1,100 certified licensees across the globe.

The initiative’s first part is to help AHRI’s GCC, Asian, European, and American members and program participants certify their tropical high ambient products to T3 test conditions through simplified mechanisms and processes. The second part involves AHRI’s outreach to regional regulators and authorities informing them about their ability to ensure compliance to T3 conditions if they wish to do so.

“We are confident that this dual approach directly supports the important value proposition of achieving governmental energy efficiency goals and regulatory/policy initiatives, while providing a wider range of quality equipment to the residential and commercial sectors in HAT regions,” said Khalil Issa, Managing Director, AHRI MENA. “Governments, consumers, and other entities have always had the assurance that AHRI Certified products have been tested by third-party laboratories to perform as promised, helping to ensure expected energy and cost savings for the benefit of institutional clients, end-users, consumers, and the environment. The expanded test conditions solidify that assurance and allow customers in these regions access to a wider array of quality product choices,” he added.

AHRI’s publicly available, free Directory of Certified Product Performance not only allows consumers, contractors, and others to quickly assess whether a product is AHRI Certified, but also enables local regulators to immediately enforce compliance by easily identifying non-compliant products.