Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Equipment (MLC)

Procurement Summary

Market research was conducted between May through December, 2023 via email correspondence and phone calls with product manufacturers. The market research was conducted by the recipient, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and DOE’s Schools & Nonprofits Program Team. Manufacturers were not able to comply with BABA requirements due to the fact that their HVAC systems and components and advanced controls are not fully produced in the USA; however, their products are assembled in the USA with foreign components. The recipient’s market research was not able to yield manufacturers who were able to meet the 55% cost of components requirement for the manufactured products listed above that are required for the project’s completion. For the HVAC equipment, the recipient contacted four industry-leading suppliers and found that the proposed manufactured products were not domestically manufactured. One manufacturer noted their products “meets the requirements of FAR 52.225-11 of the Buy American Act.” Additional research by DOE found this certification is inapplicable with respect to HVAC systems because it references a section of the FAR that discusses standards for construction materials, which have a different standard than the BABA manufactured products standard. DOE staff reached out to several manufacturers for clarification and either received no response or insufficient information that did not change the proposed waiver finding of nonavailability. After extensive outreach, no domestic manufacturer was able to provide the materials necessary to meet the BABA requirements for all products specified in this waiver. This project has specific requirements for the building automation system including but not limited to being 100% native BACnet, and being 100% reverse compatible with the manufacturers product line. These requirements are important for the systems total lifetime cost and to meet the owner’s energy savings targets. Market research confirmed that due to the lack of USA manufactured computer chips there were no automation controlling units manufactured in the U.S. that provide the specifications the recipient requires for the infrastructure project, that are also BABA compliant.

Description of items, products and materials or categories of such anticipated to be covered by this waiver

Public comment link

Final waiver link

Is this a general applicability waiver?