Earlier this month, we brought together over 200 registrants from HVAC manufacturers, utilities, testing labs, regulators, and aggregators across more than 20 countries to dig into a topic that keeps coming up in conversations with our members: what does AHRI 1380 compliance actually look like in practice, and what's changing?

The webinar featured the Alliance's Rolf Bienert alongside Spencer Borison from Codibly, Eric Olson from NEEA (and member of the AHRI 1380 working group), and Jim Zuber from QualityLogic. The 36 audience questions submitted during the session made one thing clear — OEMs are past the "should we care about this?" phase and firmly into "how do we get it done?"

Here's what we covered.

The 1380-202X revision is taking shape
The original AHRI 1380 standard was published in 2019, and a committee revision is now underway. The proposed 1380-202X update would move CTA-2045-A to the newer B revision, bring in OpenADR 3.1 and the Home Connectivity Alliance as additional non-proprietary protocol options, and retain OpenADR 2.0b as a supported path. Beyond protocols, the working group is tackling dual fuel heat pump flexibility, customer comfort maximization, and snapback reduction after DR events.

Eric Olson walked through the committee's progress and was candid that the timeline has slipped — the deeper the working group goes into each topic, the more research surfaces. That's a sign the revision is being done thoroughly, but it does mean manufacturers should plan around the current standard rather than waiting for the next one.

Two milestones, two very different compliance bars
The compliance path splits into two phases. For 2026, manufacturers can self-comply by notifying AHRI that their products meet CEE Tier 1 requirements — those products then get listed in the AHRI directory. Starting in 2027, AHRI will require certification through an approved lab such as UL, CSA, or Intertek.

The practical takeaway: 2026 is the lower-friction window. Self-compliance is a due diligence exercise, and manufacturers who move now will have a head start before the formal lab certification requirement kicks in. Several attendees asked whether there would be a grandfathering provision for early movers — the working group hasn't confirmed that, but the precedent in related programs suggests it's likely.

Testing infrastructure is catching up
One of the recurring pain points we hear from OEMs is that getting access to an OpenADR 2.0b VTN for testing has been difficult — you either negotiate access with a utility or try to stand up an open-source stack yourself. Jim Zuber from QualityLogic addressed this directly by presenting their newly released AHRI 1380 OpenADR Test Tool, a standalone product that covers all 12 required DR signaling scenarios.

The tool is purpose-built for 1380 — it maintains state with the device under test long enough for lab technicians to take physical measurements, which is a fundamentally different use case from the existing OpenADR certification test harness (which spins up a VTN, runs a single test case, and shuts down). It's already being used by at least one major test lab working with HVAC manufacturers on self-compliance.

Compliance is step one — program participation is step two
Spencer Borison from Codibly raised a point that resonated strongly with the audience: passing AHRI 1380 certification does not automatically unlock utility demand response program participation. The standard proves a product can receive and execute DR signals, but manufacturers still need to integrate with aggregator platforms or work directly with utilities to actually enroll customers in programs.

This distinction matters because some OEMs have invested in 1380 compliance expecting it to be the finish line, when it's really the starting point. The next step is identifying which aggregators — EnergyHub, Uplight, Virtual Peaker, and others — are running HVAC-specific programs in your target markets, and building those integrations. Several attendees asked about the aggregator landscape during Q&A, and it's clearly an area where the industry needs more visibility.

The conversation keeps going
Beyond the core topics, the Q&A surfaced interest in BACnet-to-OpenADR gateways, the AHRI 1390 commercial standard (where a US-Canada bi-national working group just relaunched), cybersecurity for grid-connected HVAC, and OpenADR adoption in Texas and the ERCOT market. We're following up individually with attendees who raised questions we couldn't get to in the session.

The full recording and slides are available on our webinar series page. If any of these topics are relevant to your product roadmap, reach out — we're happy to connect you with the right people.