Efficiency standard by build date

Definition

The federal energy standard a unit has to meet, fixed by its build date and binding on its maker.

Why It Matters

Commercial refrigeration standards are written against the date a unit was manufactured, and the prohibited act is a maker or private labeler distributing one that misses the standard for its build date. So a unit built before a standard changed stays lawful to sell, and aged floor stock is not stranded by the next efficiency rule. The rule that does reach a dealer's floor is the refrigerant one: three years after a product type's manufacturing cutoff for a restricted refrigerant, no person may sell a unit that uses it. Ask for build dates and refrigerants on anything aged.