OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Presentation to Energy Star Conference May 4, 2006 Warren Heeley Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Overview Background and Program Objectives Homeowner Incentive Contractor Obligations and Tune-up Checklist Advertising and Promotion Roles and Responsibilities Program Benefits and Conclusions

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program AC Program background Ontario summer electricity peak highly correlated to residential cooling No. of households with central AC systems – approx. 2 million Annual maintenance can greatly improve on-going energy efficiency of CAC systems, but not commonly done (10% or less)

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program AC Program goal To reduce the summer electricity demand and electricity consumption associated with residential and commercial air conditioning in Ontario Residential AC Residential AC Commercial AC

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Spring 2006 program objectives Increase the number of homeowners who have their CAC system professionally maintained annually have their CAC system professionally maintained prior to start of main cooling season (June 30th ) have programmable/set-back thermostats installed with their CAC systems Increase awareness of energy efficient air conditioning units, in particular, those that are ENERGY STAR qualified Encourage residential customer to purchase ENERGY STAR qualified system, when existing system needs replacing

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Incentives to homeowners are: $50 rebate on CAC tune-ups prior to June 30th Up to $75 rebate on purchase and installation of a programmable thermostat by contractor during tune-up visit (i.e. rebate covers full cost to make it ‘free’) prior to August 31st $500 rebate on purchase of new energy efficient cooling system (Energy Star qualified – 14 SEER or higher, both indoor and outdoor coils) prior to August 31st All incentives are mail-in rebates. Customers will send in forms provided by contractor during the tune-up or installation visit Tune-up rebate not offered to homeowners on service contracts at outset of program – draw for Energy Star qualified appliances (or similar prize) for these homeowners as reward for EE stewardship Homeowner incentives

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program contractors must register to participate in the program (HRAI-members and non-members eligible) and verify business and trade qualifications contractors and technicians must complete on-line program orientation course contractors must complete standard tune-up program checklist contractors must complete administrative forms as required by the program and provide to homeowner Contractor Obligations

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Technician initially inspects unit to determine its age and the potential need for replacement – informs homeowner where replacement recommended including incentive for Energy Star qualified system Tuneup checklist includes both inside and outside the home steps including inspection and cleaning of outdoor coil and system, operation of unit and use of gauges to determine electrical and refrigeration operating parameters and recording of these values Indoor portion of system includes inspection and maintenance of furnace fan including filter, inspection of electrical components, measurement and recording of airflow temperatures and refrigeration system parameters Tuneup Checklist

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program A programmable thermostat is offered and installed by the contractor when there is none in the home When homeowner agrees to replacement with an Energy Star qualified air conditioning system, make, model, SEER rating and the serial numbers of the coils are listed on the program forms for verification by the fulfillment company in all cases, the existing system make, model, SEER rating and serial numbers are recorded Other general information included on the program forms (checklist) include contactor registration number, technician name and certificate of qualification number Tuneup Checklist

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Advertising and Promotion OPA Conservation Bureau launching direct mail campaign to all Ontario households in late-April, in cooperation with LDCs Information on the AC Program will be included in the mail out package  Links to AC program public website  Toll-free call centre for homeowners to find local participating contractor Registered contractors to mail program information to customer lists Broad advertising campaign in newspapers across the province

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Roles and responsibilities Program registered contractors Overall program design, management and execution Program funding Management of  Development of standard tune-up ‘check-list’  Contractor recruitment, training and registration  On-line training tool design and development  Customer rebate redemption process Front line marketing Completion on-line orientation & registration process (both HRAC-members and non-members eligible) Complete tune-ups and administrative processes according to program requirements

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Program benefits For the homeowner: Reduced electricity use/bills from cooling Increased awareness of energy efficient cooling systems (Energy Star qualified) Financial incentives For contractors: Increased focus on sales of Energy Star qualified systems and larger number of homeowners in maintenance programs For Conservation Bureau: Energy & demand reductions Increased public awareness of energy efficient AC units and the need for regular tune-ups Increased participation in other Conservation Bureau programs

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Conclusions Increasing the percentage of Ontario homeowners who have regular maintenance on their central air conditioning systems can provide significant demand reduction and energy savings to the homeowner (up to 14%) as well as provide an annual opportunity for contractors to educate homeowners on merits of moving to Energy Star qualified systems Three year commitment to program will provide opportunities to improve content and operations in years 2 and 3 as well as use residential experiences to shape commercial phase of program HRAI structure and contractor membership in excellent position to partner with utilities or governmental organizations on comprehensive energy efficiency incentive programs that include Energy Star qualification as standard for replacement of existing systems

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Conclusions The “Cool Savings” program will provide future tools for the HVAC contractor community and raise public awareness of the standard benchmarks used in the maintenance and replacement of residential air conditioning systems to optimize energy efficiency (sizing, air circulation, refrigerant charging, etc.) The wider use of these installation and service benchmarks will provide a natural “test bed” for the Energy Star Air Conditioning and Heat Pump installation verification program to be introduced in 2007

OPA/HRAI “Cool Savings” Air Conditioning Maintenance & Replacement Program Thank you! For more information on the program please contact: Warren Heeley HRAI Ph or ex Websites