The United States Senate is currently considering several items of legislation meant to encourage the electrification of building HVAC systems to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and cut carbon emissions.
SMACNA recently wrote in support of one of the bills under consideration, S. 4139 (The HEATR Act), sponsored by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and co-sponsored by Senators John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Cory Booker (D-NJ). If passed, S.4139 would provide significant tax credit incentives for manufacturers of high-efficiency heat pumps along with certain water heaters meant for consumer, commercial, and deep industrial retrofits. These updates would significantly lower building greenhouse gas emissions and overall energy waste. In addition, such benefits would increase the amount of jobs associated with domestic manufacturing of energy-efficient HVAC systems. S. 4139 is currently under consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.
In the meantime, SMACNA provides resources that contractors and customers can draw upon to better understand the various tax incentives used in HVAC-related projects.
