FER stands for Fan Energy Rating and the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a new conservation standard for residential furnaces starting July 3, 2019. Last fall and late last year there was a lot of discussion on this new standard but then it was suddenly and somewhat surprising halted, only to then be reinstated just as suddenly again a month ago. In a nutshell the conservation standard is targeted at overall fan efficiency, but the only real way manufacturers can achieve this is by replacing the motor with a higher efficiency version. This means that standard induction motors (commonly referred to as PSC) will be replaced by constant-torque ECM (formerly known as X13) motors.
The DOE predicts the new standard for furnace fans will save approximately 3.99 quads of energy, reduce carbon pollution by up to 34 million metric tons (equivalent to the annual electricity usage of 4.7 million homes), and save Americans more than $9 BILLION in home electricity bills through 2030.
The other obvious change is that the newer more efficient motors are more expensive and will drive up the price of entry level furnaces, most higher cost furnaces already use a constant torque or true ECM motor so there will be no change. This could result in a slight shift in the repair vs. replace decision for homeowners, however as worst case this new motor would add only a few hundred dollars (hopefully less) to the price of a furnace, we expect that will be minimal. Over the lifetime of the furnace the DOE expects the average savings per furnace to the consumer will be between $340 to $500 more than covering the additional cost. As the industry moves to consolidate to these higher-efficiency motors, one would expect to see prices gradually come down on the newer entry level models as they become more common.
In heat pump markets the air handler is considered an electric furnace so the same regulations will apply. However many manufacturers are already using the higher efficiency constant torque motors in their entry level heat pump systems so no further changes are required.
Manufacturers can no longer produce furnaces with PSC motors after July 3, 2019. Thus they are issuing last calls for these models over the next month or so. Some are not pre-building, choosing instead to move quickly to the new models, while others are pre-building as many of the older PSC models as they can so they can be sold after the deadline, the ruling states they can still be sold just not manufactured like many other recent efficiency changes. You can still buy PSC motors as a service part after the ruling is in place.
We will have more information specifically on the brands we represent including last call order dates, new models, updated price books, and updated system match-ups available shortly. In the meantime please don’t hesitate to contact your Branch or Territory Manager if you’d like additional information.
Thanks for all you do and as always “Expect More From Us”!
Thanks,
Chris Baker
President & CEO
Value Added Distributors
