SEER2 Requirements by State: Federal Minimums for Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps (2026)

SEER2 requirements by state: federal minimums registry

Checked Checked once for this edition; rechecked when DOE amends 10 CFR 430.32 and at least every six months. Last checked 2026-11-02. Entries are neutral records of public data; each links to its source record.

SEER2 requirements by state come from three federal regions, not 51 state rules

Every state's SEER2 minimum is set by one federal regulation, 10 CFR 430.32(c), which sorts the 50 states and DC into a North, a Southeast and a Southwest region. Only air conditioners change with the region; heat pumps carry one national floor.

The base national standard for a split-system air conditioner made on or after January 1, 2023 is 13.4 SEER2, for both capacity classes (10 CFR 430.32(c)(5), read 2026-11-02). That base standard is the whole rule in the 30 Northern states.

In the Southeast (16 states plus DC) and the Southwest (Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico), a split air conditioner installed on or after January 1, 2023 must reach 14.3 SEER2 below 45,000 Btu/hr of certified cooling capacity and 13.8 SEER2 at 45,000 Btu/hr and up (10 CFR 430.32(c)(6)).

The Southwest adds a peak-heat test. A split air conditioner there also needs 11.7 EER2 below 45,000 Btu/hr and 11.2 EER2 above it, falling to 9.8 EER2 once its certified SEER2 is 15.2 or more; a packaged air conditioner needs 10.6 EER2 (10 CFR 430.32(c)(6)).

Central air conditioner (as regulated here): A single-phase, air-cooled air conditioner or heat pump rated below 65,000 Btu per hour, whether a single-package unit or a split system (10 CFR 430.2). Three-phase and larger units are commercial equipment under a different part of the rules.

For an HVAC owner the region decides which equipment a shop can stock and install. A business that works across a regional line, such as a Delaware shop serving Pennsylvania customers, is working under two split air conditioner floors.

53.0% of US households live where the air conditioner floor is checked at installation

The regional standard covers a majority of homes. Summing 2025 American Community Survey households by DOE region shows 71.1 million of 134.1 million households, 53.0%, in the 21 jurisdictions where a split air conditioner must meet the higher regional SEER2 floor on the day it is installed.

The Southeast holds 52.1 million households (38.8% of the US total), the Southwest 19.0 million (14.2%) and the North 63.0 million (47.0%), according to ACS 2025 1-year table B25003, released 2026-10-29.

Counting owner-occupied homes only, 45.8 million households, or 52.3% of the 87.5 million owner-occupied households in the 50 states and DC, are in the two regional zones.

Weighting each region's legal floor by its households gives a national average minimum of 13.88 SEER2 for a split air conditioner under 45,000 Btu/hr in 2025. That figure averages rules, not equipment: actual installs run above the floor.

California, Texas and Florida, the three largest states by households, all sit in a regional zone: California has 13.9 million households, Texas 11.6 million and Florida 9.3 million (ACS 2025).

For a contractor, the share matters because the installation test applies to every replacement job in those 21 jurisdictions, not only new construction.

13.4 SEER2 is not a lower bar than 14 SEER: DOE changed the test, then restated the floors

SEER2 numbers look smaller because the test got harder, not because the standard got weaker. DOE wrote the 2023 floors on the old test first (14, 15 and 14.5 SEER) and then translated them into the new appendix M1 metrics (13.4, 14.3 and 13.8 SEER2).

The 2017 direct final rule (82 FR 1786, Table I-1) lists the 2023 standards on the pre-2023 test: 14 SEER for a split air conditioner nationally, 15 SEER under 45,000 Btu/h and 14.5 SEER at 45,000 Btu/h and up in the South, and 15 SEER and 8.8 HSPF for a split heat pump.

The codified rule states the same levels as 13.4, 14.3 and 13.8 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2. DOE wrote that its translations "do not assume nor reflect any change to product design" and reported a 15% reduction from HSPF to HSPF2 for split and packaged heat pumps (82 FR 1786).

Measured on the old test, the 2023 step raised split air conditioners by about one SEER point and left packaged units alone

Putting the 2015 and 2023 floors on the same pre-2023 test basis shows where the 2023 change bit. Split air conditioners and split heat pumps moved up 3.6% to 7.7%; packaged air conditioners and packaged heat pumps did not move.

In the North the split air conditioner floor went from 13 SEER (2015) to the equivalent of 14 SEER (2023), a 7.7% rise. In the South the under-45,000 Btu/h floor went from 14 to 15 SEER (7.1%) and the 45,000 Btu/h and up floor from 14 to 14.5 SEER (3.6%), based on 10 CFR 430.32(c)(1) to (3) and 82 FR 1786 Table I-1.

Split heat pumps rose from 14 to 15 SEER (7.1%) and from 8.2 to 8.8 HSPF (7.3%). Packaged air conditioners and packaged heat pumps stayed at 14 SEER, with the packaged heat pump at 8.0 HSPF, so their change was 0.0%.

The North had no regional step in 2015: its split air conditioner floor stayed at 13 SEER from 2006 until the end of 2022 (76 FR 37408; 10 CFR 430.32(c)(1)). The 2023 rule was the first increase there in that period.

Install date in the South, factory date in the North: which date makes a unit legal

The same air conditioner can be legal in Ohio and illegal in Georgia on the same day. The statute applies regional standards to products installed after the effective date, while the national standard applies to products manufactured or imported after it.

42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(6)(E) sets the split: the base national standard applies to products manufactured or imported on and after the effective date, and a regional standard applies to products installed on or after it. 10 CFR 430.2 defines installation as connecting the refrigerant lines and/or electrical systems to make the unit operational.

For the 2015 step, DOE gave the South a sell-through window: it did not seek civil penalties for violations before July 1, 2016 involving units made before January 1, 2015 (81 FR 45387). DOE's regional standards page now says that policy has expired and that DOE "will strictly enforce" the regional standards.

For the 2023 step, the rule text ties Southern split air conditioners to the installation date (10 CFR 430.32(c)(6)), and DOE's current enforcement policies page, read 2026-11-02, lists no regional sell-through policy. A trade-journal summary from the International Code Council reads the rule the same way.

Heat pumps have one national floor, and in 21 jurisdictions a small split air conditioner now matches it

The minimum differs by equipment type in every one of the 51 jurisdictions, but by how much depends on the region. Heat pump floors are national and keyed to the manufacture date.

In the 30 Northern states a split heat pump must beat a split air conditioner by 0.9 SEER2 (14.3 against 13.4). In the 21 Southern jurisdictions the gap is 0.0 for units under 45,000 Btu/hr and 0.5 SEER2 for larger units (10 CFR 430.32(c)(5) to (6)).

DOE's regional standards Q&A states that heat pump standards depend on the date of manufacture, "not the date or location of installation". The regional add-ons apply to split air conditioners and, in the Southwest, packaged air conditioners (DOE Office of the General Counsel).

Shipment trends for heat pumps against furnaces are covered in the heat pump sales report; this report does not repeat them.

No state sets its own stricter air conditioner minimum, because federal law preempts it

We found no state appliance standard for central air conditioners stricter than the federal floor. Federal law blocks one unless DOE grants a waiver, and no central air conditioner waiver turned up in the Federal Register.

Under 42 U.S.C. 6297(c), once a federal standard is in effect no state regulation on the energy efficiency of that product is effective, with exceptions for a DOE waiver under 6297(d) and qualifying building codes under 6297(f)(3).

A building code may not require a covered product to exceed the federal standard unless the state holds a waiver (42 U.S.C. 6297(f)(3)(B)). States may write the federal regional standard into their own codes and may seek enforcement in federal court (42 U.S.C. 6295(o)(6)(G)).

A Federal Register search for DOE documents containing "waiver of Federal preemption" returned 8 documents on 2026-11-02. The only waiver among them covered plumbing fixtures (75 FR 80289, 2010), and California's petition on clothes washers was denied (71 FR 78157, 2006). The one central air conditioner document in the list is the 2002 standards rule, which granted no waiver.

What the regional rule asks of a contractor: 48 months of install records and a 30-day clock

The regional standard is enforced at the installer, which is unusual for an appliance rule. Contractors in 20 states and DC must keep install records, and DOE can ask for them on 30 days' notice.

Contractors and dealers must keep, for at least 48 months, the manufacturer, model, serial number, address and installation date of each split air conditioner they install in the 20 regional states and DC (10 CFR 429.142). Distributors keep records for 54 months and manufacturers for 60 months.

A contractor that knowingly installs a noncompliant central air conditioner commits a violation (10 CFR 429.102(c)(3)). Replacing the unit at the violator's cost counts as remediation, and the end user cannot be charged (10 CFR 429.154). A finding of routine violation cuts the contractor off from manufacturer and distributor supply, according to DOE's enforcement page.

DOE's regional standards page, read 2026-11-02, shows headings for findings of violation and routine violation with no case entries linked beneath them. The same page still quotes a penalty of up to $440, while 10 CFR 429.120 now sets $575 per violation for prohibited acts by manufacturers and others.

For an owner, these install logs are part of the company's paper trail; anyone reviewing a Southern HVAC business, for a sale or otherwise, can ask to see them. State contractor licensing is a separate layer, covered in HVAC license requirements by state. The general steps of selling an HVAC business are on the main guide.

Since 2023: new test metrics on paper, delayed checks and no new floor

DOE has not changed the SEER2 minimums since they took effect on January 1, 2023. The later rulemakings changed how products are tested and when certain checks start.

On January 7, 2025 DOE updated appendix M1 to AHRI 210/240-2024 and added appendix M2 with two new metrics, SCORE and SHORE, which are not required until DOE adopts standards based on them (90 FR 1224). The rule's effective date was pushed back three times, to July 7, 2025 (90 FR 21389).

On September 9, 2025 DOE delayed the controls verification enforcement provisions at 10 CFR 429.134(k)(4) by one year to July 7, 2026 (90 FR 43367); the eCFR shows them applying from that date.

On July 7, 2026 DOE proposed revising the Process Rule it follows when considering new or revised efficiency standards, with comments due August 6, 2026 (91 FR 42034). That proposal does not itself change any SEER2 floor.

The refrigerant change to R-454B and the limits on new R-410A equipment are a separate EPA program, tracked in the R-410A phase-out tracker.

Counts and distributions

Download the calculations (CSV)

Key findings

1. Split air conditioners made on or after 2023-01-01 must reach at least 13.4 SEER2 nationwide, the full requirement in the 30 Northern states (10 CFR 430.32(c)(5), read 2026-11-02).^[1]
2. In the Southeast and Southwest, split air conditioners installed on or after 2023-01-01 need 14.3 SEER2 under 45,000 Btu/hr and 13.8 SEER2 at 45,000 Btu/hr and up (10 CFR 430.32(c)(6)).^[1]
3. Southwest split air conditioners also need 11.7 EER2 (under 45,000 Btu/hr) or 11.2 EER2 (larger), or 9.8 EER2 at 15.2 SEER2 and above; Southwest packaged air conditioners need 10.6 EER2.^[1]
4. Split heat pumps carry a national floor of 14.3 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2, and packaged heat pumps 13.4 SEER2 and 6.7 HSPF2, as of 2026.^[1]
5. 71.1 million US households, 53.0% of the 2025 total, live in the 21 jurisdictions where split air conditioner floors are checked at installation (ACS 2025 B25003).^[30][1]
6. The Southeast holds 38.8% of US households, the Southwest 14.2% and the North 47.0% (ACS 2025).^[30]
7. The household-weighted legal floor for a split air conditioner under 45,000 Btu/hr was 13.88 SEER2 in 2025.^[30][1]
8. DOE stated the 2023 floors on the old test as 14, 15 and 14.5 SEER before restating them as 13.4, 14.3 and 13.8 SEER2 (82 FR 1786, 2017).^[14]
9. DOE reported a 15% reduction from HSPF to HSPF2 for split and packaged heat pumps caused by the test change, not by product changes (82 FR 1786).^[14]
10. On the same pre-2023 test, the Northern split air conditioner floor rose 7.7% in 2023 (13 to 14 SEER), the first increase there since 2006.^[1][11][14]
11. Contractors in 20 regional states and DC must keep split air conditioner install records for at least 48 months (10 CFR 429.142).^[5]
12. The maximum civil penalty under 10 CFR 429.120 is $575 per violation in 2026, while DOE's regional standards web page still cites $440.^[4][27]
13. A Federal Register search on 2026-11-02 found 8 DOE documents mentioning a waiver of Federal preemption; none grants one for central air conditioners.^[23][21][22]

Executive summary

• SEER2 minimums vary by DOE region, not by individual state: 30 Northern states, 17 Southeastern jurisdictions (16 states plus DC) and 4 Southwestern states (10 CFR 430.32(c)(6)).
• Split air conditioners need 13.4 SEER2 in the North and 14.3 SEER2 (13.8 at 45,000 Btu/h and up) in the Southeast and Southwest; the Southwest also sets EER2 floors.
• Split heat pumps need 14.3 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2 everywhere; packaged heat pumps 13.4 SEER2 and 6.7 HSPF2; packaged air conditioners 13.4 SEER2.
• In 2025, 53.0% of US households (ACS) lived in the regional zones where the floor applies on the installation date.
• On DOE's own pre-2023 test basis, the 2023 step raised split air conditioner floors by 3.6% to 7.7% and left packaged units unchanged.
• No state has a stricter central air conditioner standard we could find; federal law preempts state efficiency rules absent a DOE waiver.
• Contractors in 20 states and DC must keep install records for 48 months and produce them within 30 days of a DOE request.

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Reproduce this analysis

Every figure comes from the files below. The scripts that pulled and computed them are kept with the report and can be re-run.

Data quality and exclusions

• ACS file: 52 state-level rows; 1 row (Puerto Rico) dropped so the totals cover the 50 states and DC; non-state geographies other than the national row were ignored.
• Check: the sum of the 51 state household estimates (134,063,422) equals the national row exactly, so no rows were lost.
• Region coding: 17 Southeast and 4 Southwest names asserted against the eCFR footnote text; the remaining 30 states coded North by elimination.
• Federal Register search: 296 hits on 'central air conditioners and heat pumps' screened by title; 10 rules used, the rest concern other products or waivers for single manufacturers.
• DOE pages: 3 energy.gov URLs returned not-found errors and 1 returned a 2015 PDF on a different topic; they are listed in excluded.md and not cited.

Methodology

Selection: the registry is coded from the official text of 10 CFR 430.32(c) and Part 429 as published on eCFR (up to date as of 2026-10-29) and read on 2026-11-02, from Federal Register final rules, from 42 U.S.C. 6295 and 6297 (United States Code 2024 edition via govinfo), and from DOE Office of the General Counsel pages. Trade-press and manufacturer pages were used only to check what competing pages say.

Coding: each of the 50 states and DC is assigned to the North, Southeast or Southwest using the state lists in the footnotes to 10 CFR 430.32(c)(6); the build script asserts each name against the downloaded eCFR text. Every registry row carries the CFR citation, the eCFR URL, the date checked (2026-11-02) and a confidence field; all 51 rows are 'clear text' because the regulation names each state.

State standards: we searched the Federal Register API for DOE documents containing 'waiver of Federal preemption' and read the statute's preemption and building-code exceptions. We did not open each state's appliance code; a state rule stricter than the federal floor would be preempted unless DOE granted a waiver, and none for central air conditioners was found.

Households: counts are occupied housing units from the ACS 2025 1-year table-based summary file (table B25003), released 2026-10-29. The national figure equals the sum of the 51 state rows; Puerto Rico is excluded even though the regulation places it in the Southeast.

Derived metrics: regional sums and shares, the household-weighted floor, the heat pump to air conditioner gaps, the implied SEER2 to SEER ratios and the 2015 to 2023 changes are computed in scripts/build_tables.py and listed with formulas in derived_metrics.csv. Conflicts: where DOE's 2015-era web page and the current CFR differ (penalty amount), the CFR text is used and the difference is reported.

Limitations and update: the registry is checked once for this edition and will be rechecked when DOE publishes a new standard or at least every six months. Last update 2026-11-02. Readers who want an estimate of their own company's value can use the form at the valuation page.

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.

Sources, ranked by quality

Tier 1: primary and official sources (31)

• [1] Office of the Federal Register / U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR 430.32(c), energy conservation standards for central air conditioners and heat pumps (eCFR, up to date as of 2026-10-29). In force 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [2] Office of the Federal Register / U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR 430.2, definitions (installation of a central air conditioner; central air conditioner). In force 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [3] Office of the Federal Register / U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR 429.102, prohibited acts and violations of regional standards. In force 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [4] Office of the Federal Register / U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR 429.120, maximum civil penalty. In force 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [5] Office of the Federal Register / U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR 429.142, records retention for regional standards. In force 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [6] Office of the Federal Register / U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR 429.144, records request. In force 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [7] Office of the Federal Register / U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR 429.146 and 429.148, notice of violation and routine violator. In force 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [8] Office of the Federal Register / U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR 429.154, remediation. In force 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [9] Office of the Federal Register / U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR 429.158, product determined noncompliant with regional standards. In force 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [10] Office of the Federal Register / U.S. Department of Energy. 10 CFR 429.134(k), product-specific enforcement provisions for central air conditioners and heat pumps. In force 2026. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [11] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Furnaces and Residential Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps, direct final rule, 76 FR 37408. Published 2011-06-27. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [12] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Confirmation of effective and compliance dates, 76 FR 67037. Published 2011-10-31. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [13] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Enforcement of Regional Standards for Central Air Conditioners, final rule, 81 FR 45387. Published 2016-07-14. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [14] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps, direct final rule, 82 FR 1786. Published 2017-01-06. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [15] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Confirmation of effective and compliance dates, 82 FR 24211. Published 2017-05-26. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [16] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Test Procedures for Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps, final rule (appendix M1), 82 FR 1426. Published 2017-01-05. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [17] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Test Procedure for Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps, final rule (appendix M2), 90 FR 1224. Published 2025-01-07. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [18] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Further delay of effective date, 90 FR 21389. Published 2025-05-20. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [19] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). One-year delay of controls verification enforcement provisions, 90 FR 43367. Published 2025-09-09. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [20] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Proposed update to the Process Rule for new or revised standards, 91 FR 42034. Published 2026-07-07. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [21] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Waiver of Federal preemption for state water-use rules on showerheads, faucets, water closets and urinals, 75 FR 80289. Published 2010-12-22. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [22] U.S. Department of Energy (Federal Register). Denial of California Energy Commission petition for exemption from Federal preemption (clothes washers), 71 FR 78157. Published 2006-12-28. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [23] Office of the Federal Register. Federal Register API search: DOE documents containing "waiver of Federal preemption". All years to 2026-11-02. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [24] Office of the Federal Register. Federal Register API search: DOE documents containing "central air conditioners and heat pumps". All years to 2026-11-02. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [25] U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), United States Code 2024 edition. 42 U.S.C. 6295, energy conservation standards (including (o)(6) regional standards). 2024 edition. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [26] U.S. Government Publishing Office (govinfo), United States Code 2024 edition. 42 U.S.C. 6297, effect on other law (Federal preemption). 2024 edition. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [27] U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel. Regional Standards Enforcement. Page read 2026-11-02. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [28] U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel. Regional Standards Enforcement: Q&As (dated 2018-02-27). 2018. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [29] U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel. Enforcement Policies and Statements. Page read 2026-11-02. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [30] U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 2025 1-year, table B25003 (tenure), table-based summary file. 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.
• [31] U.S. Census Bureau. ACS data releases page (2025 1-year estimates released 2026-10-29). 2025. Accessed 2026-11-02.

Tier 3: journalism and expert commentary (1)

• [32] International Code Council, Building Safety Journal. 2023 Efficiency Requirements for Air Conditioning Systems: What You Need to Know. 2023 standards. Accessed 2026-11-02.