For immediate release
July 14, 2009
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The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), the nation's largest association of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVACR) contractors, has announced that the association's chairman, Stan Johnson, testified before Congress on July 15, 2009.

Johnson, president of Stan's Heating & Cooling in Austin, Texas, appeared before the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee. The Committee, chaired by Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), focused its hearing on "Economic Recovery: Tax Stimulus Items That Benefited Small Business with a Look Ahead."

A copy of Johnson's written testimony may be read at www.acca.org/testimony/. Video of the hearing is available at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=HouseSmallBizDems&view=videos.

Johnson focused his testimony on the positive impact of the recent expansion of federal tax credits for high-efficiency HVACR equipment, while also pointing out problems with the way the credits were written and are being applied.

A recent survey of ACCA members revealed that nearly two-thirds of the association's members have seen some increase in the sales of qualifying equipment since the tax credits were included in the stimulus legislation.

"Tax credits help drive up demand for qualified higher efficiency HVAC equipment. Increased efficiency is the low hanging fruit in the effort stimulate the national economy, reduce energy consumption, promote indoor air quality, and lower greenhouse gas emissions," Johnson said. 

For geothermal systems, which are highly efficient but expensive to install, the credit is equal to 30% of the installed costs with no limit. This has led to a tremendous spike in interest and sales of geothermal systems, which have a high installation costs but substantially lower operating costs. Johnson's own company has seen geothermal business skyrocket from 0% of business in June 2008 to over 30% of business in June 2009.

But there have been problems with the way Congress enacted the tax credits. Changes made to the minimum SEER and EER ratings for central air conditioners disqualified a large number of highly-efficient equipment choices from qualifying for the tax credits.

And there have been no incentives created for small businesses to improve their energy efficiency. Johnson recommended that Congress look at creating more incentives for small businesses to replace inefficient HVACR equipment.

For more than forty years, the Air Conditioning Contractors of America has served the educational, policy and technical interests of the small businesses that design, install, and maintain indoor environmental systems. ACCA is a non-profit organization with members in all 50 states and over 20 countries. Learn more at www.acca.org.

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