ACCA CEO Shares Insights on Inflation Reduction Act Panel Discussion at AHR Expo

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ACCA was proud to represent the contractor voice during a standing-room-only panel discussion on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) during the AHR Expo in Chicago, IL, on January 22, 2024.

ACCA President and CEO Barton James joined Alex Ayers, director of government affairs at Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI), Charles R. White, vice president of regulatory affairs at PHCC – National Association, Eric Hatton, vice president of utility and government services at EGIA, and Samantha Slater, senior vice president of government affairs at HARDI for a panel discussion titled: “What You Need to Know: A Closer Look at the Ongoing Implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act Incentives.”

The discussion covered various topics, including updates on the status of the U.S. Department of Electric Home Appliance Rebate Programs and the U.S. Department of Treasury/Internal Revenue Service 25C Program. Additionally, potential barriers to market and customer adoption and challenges in program implementation were addressed. Several questions were posed during the discussion, such as identifying primary concerns with the implementation of Electric Home Appliance Rebate programs, exploring ways to collectively support a positive customer experience, determining helpful information to track and report, extracting key lessons from other energy efficiency-related rebate programs, and inquiring about the existence of a central web-based platform containing all relevant program information.

“Heat pumps are not new technology,” James said. “The key is not how many new heat pumps are installed; the crucial piece is ensuring they are installed correctly. Quality installation matters.”

“It’s not right that we have half the installations in the country losing 40% efficiency. We need to do better,” James said.

The panel also discussed contractor awareness of the rebates available to homeowners looking to take advantage of state and federal programs. Dsireusa.org lists rebates state-by-state.

James highlighted ACCA’s mission of representing contractor interests and fighting for the contractor. “There are a lot of great groups fighting for you; we need contractors to get involved,” James said. “There are a lot of different dynamics that are making this complicated…I highly encourage you to weigh in with groups like ACCA and your state associations.”

ACCA representatives attend AHR Expo and other industry gatherings regularly to represent the contractor voice in industry discussions.

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Posted In: Events, Refrigerants