In a July 22nd session, the US House of Representatives' "Subcommittee on Energy and Power" made the decision to delay a new piece of energy legislation. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has proposed a new national standard for all residential, commercial, and industrial furnaces: they must meet a minimum requirement of 92 percent AFUE. "AFUE" stands for "annual fuel utilization efficiency," and exists as a measurement of thermal efficiency. AFUE ratings, measured in percentages, are used throughout the HVAC industry for gas furnaces, oil furnaces, heat pumps, electric heaters, and other sources of central heating. The new proposal for a 92 percent minimum has been contentious among stakeholders-- currently, 92 percent AFUE is considered very high, with many economy model furnaces on [Read more...]

Honeywell, a leading manufacturer of heating and cooling systems and solutions, has recently acquired another, smaller company, Elster. Previously, Elster was a division of Melrose Industries, specializing in thermal heating solutions like gas furnaces, natural gas commercial heating systems, "smart home" HVAC automation software, thermostats, and many other common HVAC products. Importantly, Elster also manufactures computers, software, and other regulatory products for the gas industry itself. Elster, a healthy division that made over $1.8 billion in total sales for 2015, has been acquired by Honeywell for the impressive sum of $5.1 billion. Honeywell hopes that the acquisition of Elster will help the brand to experience greater growth in the coming years. Honeywell also plans to [Read more...]