On June 12, Stephen Yurek, President of the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), led an AHRI delegation to Midea Air Conditioning Headquarters to deepen global collaboration. The meeting focused on co-developing regional energy efficiency standards and streamlining regulatory pathways for international market access.
During the visit, AHRI recognized Midea for achieving 100% compliance across three consecutive years of certification testing in categories including VMAC, PTHP, and PTAC. Midea representatives included Louis Zhao, President of the Residential Air Conditioning Division; Vincent Chou, Vice President of the Residential Air Conditioning Division; and Dennis Lee, Vice President of Midea Building Technologies Division International Business.
The closed-door discussions explored collaboration frameworks for three market types: accelerating electrification and inverter technology in developing markets; creating practical efficiency and quality standards for extreme-climate regions; and building regulatory systems in markets without unified standards. The parties also reviewed the role of AHRI’s international presence, including offices in Singapore and Dubai, in supporting regulatory harmonization and enabling Midea systems to qualify for key incentive programs.
Stephen Yurek highlighted AHRI’s global footprint with offices in the U.S., China, India, UAE, and Mexico. He noted interest in deeper collaboration based on Midea’s heat pump performance, citing outputs of up to 100% heating at -31°F and cooling at 140°F.
“Midea commits to pioneering heat pump innovation for unprecedented efficiency and environmental adaptability, while tailoring localized solutions to meet global efficiency regulations,” said Louis Zhao, President of Midea's Residential Air Conditioning Division.
Since 2017, Midea has worked with AHRI on projects involving high-efficiency low-temperature heating, eco-friendly refrigerants, and CVP. Midea is the first Chinese brand admitted to AHRI’s Central Ducted Systems Unitary Section Leadership Council and participates in various certification and technical forums.
Midea is also expanding its heat pump portfolio with products such as Packaged Window Heat Pumps (PWHP) and Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWH), with reported efficiency up to 400%. The June 12 meeting outlined strategic directions for supporting Midea’s role in the North American market through ongoing certification and standard alignment with AHRI.