The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute(ARI) (Arlington, VA) is asking the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to adjust the minimum efficiency standard for central air conditioners and heat pumps to 20 percent instead of the 30 percent figure proposed earlier this year. In a petition filed by ARI earlier this year the association said that DOE¿s new rule requiring the installation of equipment that is 30 percent more efficient, beginning in 2006, would be so costly to consumers and small businesses that it ¿would price many people out of the market when it comes to purchasing decisions.¿