HVAC QI 8/31/2011

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# ENERGY STA R® 

# Partnership Agreement For ENERGY STAR HVAC Quality Installation (QI) Program Partners

**Mail this form to:**  ENERGY STAR HVAC QI Program Manager US EPA (Mail Code 6202J) 1 200 Pen n syl va n ia Ave, NW Was h i n gto n , D C 20 460 Or **Fax this form to:**  2 0 2 - 3 4 3 - 2 2 0 0
**Organizati o**  **n** Name: Address: City/St a te/Zip: Tel e phone: Fax:

_ Web Site: Major Area(s) Served: Authorized C o mp a n y/Organizati o n Re p resentati ve (printed name): Title: E - mail: Signature: Date: **To be**  **c ompleted by**  **U.S. E P** **A:** EPA Rep rese ntative; E N E R GY S TAR Reside n tial Bra n c h , Cl i mate Part ners h i p Program D ivisi o n Signature: Date: **ENERGY S T** **AR HVAC QI Pr** **o g**  **ram Goals** EN E R G Y S TAR he l p s con su mers, b u s i nes s es, and p u b lic organi zati o ns p rotect t h e e n v i ronm en t throu gh su p erior en ergy effi c i e n cy. The ENE R GY S TAR HVAC QI program seeks to improve HVAC insta ll a ti o n practices to deliver greater energy efficiency and comfo rt to con s u me rs and to provide a new ene rgy effic i ency p rogram strategy to u t il i t i es. Notes:

- The ENE R GY S TAR HVAC Q I Program is ap p lic a b le to res i de n ti a l i n sta l lati o ns of c e nt ral air cond i ti on ing, fu r n ace, air- source heat p u m p , geot h e rmal he at p u m p and b o iler systems. I n sta l l a ti o ns may be i n sin g le - f

a m i ly houses or i n m u l t ifa m ily b u i l dings i n w h ich each u n i t has i t s own self - c on ta i n ed HVAC syste m .

- Program spon s ors may choose to in c lu d e systems in existing homes and/or new con st r u ction. Requi rem e nts are more stringe n t for new con st ruction a n d for ex isti n g hom e s with new or modi fied du ctwork.

- If a home has multiple z o nes with separate HVAC systems, each system mu st be verified as a separate unit.

- Alt h ou g h t h e E NE R GY S TAR HVAC Q I Program does not req u ire co n t ractors to in sta l l EN E R G Y S TAR qu a li fied e q u i pm e n t we strongly e n c ou rage program par t ners to p romote EN E R G Y S TAR qu a li fi ed eq ui pm e n t i n tan d em w it h qu a l i ty in sta l lat io n . **ENERGY ST** **AR Commi t**  **ments to P ar** **tners** 1 . Increase awareness of the E N ERGY S TAR HVAC Q u ality I n stallation Program by dist r i buting key messages on the b e nefits of pro p er in sta l lati o n pract ices and veri ficat i o n . 2 . Provide curre nt ENERGY STAR news, info r mati o n, a n d reference do c u ments (v ia the ENERGY STAR Web site, Hot l i n e, e - mail or ot her means ) . 3 . Provide E N E R GY S TAR pa rt ners w i th p u b li c recogni t i o n f or th e ir invo l vem e n t i n E N E RGY S TA R . 4 . Resp o n d swi f

t l y to any par

tn er req u est for in f

ormat i o n or clarific a

ti o n o n E N E R GY STAR po l icies. OMB Control No. 2060 - 0586HVAC QI 8/31/2011

Page 2 of 3 **Definitions:** For the p u r p o s e of t h is agreeme n t t h e fo l l owing t erms are defi n ed as fol l ows: ANSI The Ame r ican Nation a l Stan d ards Inst it u te (AN S I) facil i tat e s the devel op me n t of Ame ri can Nati o nal Standards by accrediting the procedures of standards develo p ing orga ni zati o ns. Accreditat i o n by AN S I sign i fies t h at t h e proce d u res used by t h e sta n dards body i n conne cti o n w i th t h e deve lo p me n t of Ame ri can Nati o nal Standards me et the I n st itu te’s essen t ial re q ui rem e n ts for o p e nnes s , bal an ce, cons e nsus and due proc e ss. E NERGY STAR HVAC QI G u ideli n es Re q u ire m e n ts for in stall a ti on s under t h e p rogram mu st meet Air Con d itioning C o ntra ctors of Ameri c a (ACCA) Standard 5: HVAC Quali ty I n sta l lat ion Spe cific a ti o n or equivalent stand a rd approved by EPA. File Ve r ific a

ti o n File ver i ficat i o n is a review of load calc u lati o ns, e q u i p m e n t select ion a n d t h e co m missi on ing re port . T h is review i n c lu des con firm i n g t h at all re q u ired i n sta l lat ion e l e me n ts were p e rformed u s ing an app roved method a n d ch e cking for data inc o nsi sten c ie s . Field Ve r ific a

tion Field verification is an in - field verific a ti o n of the in stall a

ti o n that f

o llows e stablished protocols. **Terms of the Agreement:** The f o llow ing are the te r ms of the EN E R G Y S TAR Partnersh i p Agreem e n t as it perta i n s to ENE R GY S TAR HVAC Quality In stall a

ti o n (QI) Program Partners . The ENERGY STAR Partner un d er HVAC QI is defined as a program sponsor w h o agrees to the f o llow ing co m m i tm e n t s , and is l ega lly i n d e pe n dent fro m co n tractors pe rfo r m i ng in sta l lati o ns and third - party verifiers ve r if y ing i n sta llat i on s un d e r t h is p rogra m. The ENE R GY S TAR Partner may issue an E NE R GY S TAR Q u al i ty In sta l l a ti o n Cert ific a

t e for a reside n tial c e ntra l air co n diti o n i n g, fu r n ace, air- source h eat pump, geothe r mal heat pump or boiler syst em if the follow ing c r iteria are met: 1 ) The parti ci p at i n g contra ctor has signed a p a rtic i p at i o n agreem e n t w it h t h e E N E R GY S TAR Partner i m p lem en t i ng the program. a) The parti ci p at i on agreem e n t betw een t h e contra ctor and the EN E R G Y S TAR part ner mu st in cl ude at a m i n i mum: i) E n try and tra i n ing re q u ire me n ts ii) Insta ll a

ti o n re q u ire m e n ts ii i ) Docum en tati o n re q u i rem e n t s iv) S amp l ing and verific a ti o n req u ire m e n ts v) A confl ict res o l u ti o n process vi) A process for dismissal fr om the program i f the terms of t h e pa rti c ip a ti o n agreem e n t a re not ad h ered to 2 ) The system is installed by a t e ch n ici a n worki n g as or for a state l ic e nsed contra ctor, w h e re a license is re q u ire d . 3 ) The syst e m is verified to m e et the E N E R GY STAR HVAC Q I Gui d el in es by an eli g i bl e and qu a l i fied t h ird party verifier. a) The criteria f

o r meeting the ENERGY STAR HVAC Q I G u id e l i n es are e stab l is h ed by: i) ACCA Standard 5 or compa rable AN S I - re c ogn i zed, H VAC speci ficat ion related to t h e proper i n sta ll a ti o n of reside n ti a l and com m ercial heat i n g, ve n t i l ati o n, and air c ond i ti o n i ng b ) To be con s id e red eligible under the p rogram the third p a rty verifier must: i) Be an auto n o mous organizati o n/in d iv i d u al wi t h no fin a nc i al or owners hi p co n nect i o ns to t h e con t ractors p artici p at i n g in t h e p rogram ii) Demon strate knowledge and ability to ve r ify each e l ement of the E N E R GY STAR HVAC QI Gui d elinesHVAC QI 8/31/2011

Page 3 of 3 **Terms of the Agreement (continued):**  4 ) Sampling Rates and Verificati o n Protoc o ls. a) A file ver i ficati on m u st be p e rformed o n each installation. b ) The program requires that all Partners me et, at a mi n i mum , the fol l ow i n g samp li n g rates on fi e ld ver i fi c ati o ns, or offer an alt e rnate ve r ific a tion sche d u le f

o r EPA approva l: i) Phase 1
– Fi e ld verific a ti o n w i ll be c o n d uct e d on 3 of t h e fi rst 5 i n sta l lat i o n s su b m i t t ed by a new contra ctor pa rtic i p a n t . ii) Phase 2
– Aft e r successful completion o f Phase 1, the Partn e r must perf o rm fi e ld verifi c ati o n on at le ast 5% of in stall a ti o ns by each c o ntra ctor. c) A contractor i s not e l ig i b le to move to t h e n ext p h ase, or lower sam p l i ng rate, u n t il t h ey can demon st rate to the Program Partner that they are consist en tly m e et i n g a l l program re q ui rem e n t and t e ch n ical sta n da r ds. d) All In sta l lat i on mu st be ver i fi e d using t h e ve r ific a ti o n proto cols ou t l i n ed i n t h e E N E RGY S TAR HVAC Q I Sponsor Gui d e document. 5 ) The Partner has submitted a detailed i mp l e me n tat ion pl a n to EPA descr i b i ng how t h ey wi l l i m pl e m e n t sections 1 thro ugh 4 of t h is agreem en t. The Part n er may not proc e ed wi t h t h e p rogram u n t i l t h i s plan has be e n approved by EPA.
**Other Part n**  **er requirements under this a** **g reement:** 

• Provide EPA, o n a qua rterly basis, market indicators to a ss i st in d eter m i ni n g t h e effe cts of the program in pro mot ing qu a l i ty HVAC i n sta l lat ion s . E PA will o n ly u s e the data f o r program eva lu ati o n p u rpose s . The f o llow i n g data should be s u b m itted i n ele ctro n ic f o rmat: Nu m b er of pa rtic i p ati n g cont ractors Nu m b er of i n stall a

ti o ns pe rf o rmed Nu m b er of i n stall a

ti o ns i n sp e cted N u m b e r o f i n sta ll ati o n s fa i l in g ver ifi cat i on Nu m b er of ce rti ficates is s u ed Reasons for in stall ati o n fa i lu res and the acti on t h at was ta ken to reso l ve the pro b l e m

• Adhere to the ENERGY STAR Identity Guidelines (avail a ble at www. e n e rgystar.gov/m a rks) and en s u re that au t h or i zed re p resentative s , such as advert ising agen c ies al s o compl y .
• Prior to us e , su b m i t all mar ket i n g mate r ials developed for Partner’s EN E RGY S TAR p romot ions to E NE R GY S TAR for review to e n sure ac c u racy of ENERGY STAR logo u s e and consi st e n cy of the E N ERGY STAR me s sage. Partner wi l l allow a m i n i m u m of fi ve fu l l worki n g days for ENE RG Y S TAR to review and a p prove ENE R GY STAR aspects o f the market ing mate r ials.

• Notify EPA of a change in t h e designated re s p on s ible pa rty or contacts wi thin 30 days. **General Terms and Disclaimers** 1. The partner will not construe, claim or imply that its parti c ipation in ENERGY STAR con stitutes fed e ral government approval, a c ce ptance, or endorsement of anything other t h an the partner’s commitment to EN E R GY STAR. Partnership does not constitute fe d eral government end orsement of the p artner or its s e rvices. 2. The partner u n derstands that the activities it u nderta kes in connection with ENERGY STAR are voluntary and not intended to provide services to the fed e ral government. As such, the partner will not submit a claim for co m pensation to any federal agency. 3. The partner and ENERGY STAR will assume good faith as a general princ i ple for resolving conflict and will seek to resolve all matters inf

o rmally, s o as to preserve maximum p u blic confidence in ENERGY S TAR. 4. This agreement is voluntary a n d can be terminated by either pa r ty at a n y time or any reas o n, with no penalty. 5. Failure to comply with any of the terms of this partnership ag r eement can result in its termi n ation and ces s ation of access to the benefits of ENERGY STAR, including use of the marks. 6. ENERGY STAR will actively pursue resolution of nonco m pliance related to t h e use of the ENERGY STAR m arks.

EPA Form 5900 - 183 The government estimates the average time needed to fill out this form is 0.50 hours and welcomes suggestions for reducing this effort. Send comments (referencing OMB Control Number) to the Director, Collection Strategies Division, U.S. EPA (2822T), 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20460
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