Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14), along with Reps. Van Taylor (TX-3), Ken Calvert (CA-42), Brett Guthrie (KY-2), David Kustoff (TN-8), David Valadao (CA-21), and Byron Donalds (FL-19), sent a letter to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm requesting a six-month extension of the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) standards deadline.

The current deadline to install SEER-14 equipment is January 1, 2023. This extension would provide home builders with adequate time to install heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment that is currently in compliance with SEER requirements but has not yet been installed due to construction delays and supply chain issues.  Otherwise, homebuilders would be forced to install SEER-15 equipment, while still holding a significant inventory of the soon-to-be-outdated SEER-14 stock.

“The supply chain crisis and subsequent construction delays have had a dramatic impact on costs for builders, homebuyers,” the letter states.  “This comes at a time when the country is already experiencing a growing housing affordability crisis.  Building material prices are up 47 percent since the spring of 2020, and Fannie Mae estimates that the monthly principal and interest payment to purchase a median-priced home has risen by $500 since the beginning of the year due to the rapid rise in mortgage rates.”

“Therefore, we urge DOE to extend the energy efficiency standards installation deadline for HVAC equipment by six months as a reasonable safeguard to avoid unnecessary delays and cost increases for home construction.  This extension will further provide home builders and home buyers with greater certainty regarding their construction plans at a time when many details and costs are outside of their control.”