§ 20-715 Penalties.

Any person who violates the provisions of section 20-713.1 or regulations promulgated pursuant to this subchapter shall pay a civil penalty of one hundred seventy-five dollars for the first offense, five hundred dollars for the second offense and seven hundred and fifty dollars for the third offense and each succeeding offense and shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars for the first offense and for each succeeding offense a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than seven hundred fifty dollars for each such violation. For the purposes of this section, if on any single day the required signage is not displayed in accordance with section 20-713.1 or regulations promulgated pursuant to this subchapter, it shall be considered a single violation.

(Am. L.L. 2021/080, 7/18/2021, eff. 11/15/2021; Am. L.L. 2021/098, 9/26/2021, eff. 11/15/2021)

Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2021/080 and L.L. 2021/098.

Subchapter 4: Information with Respect to Room Air Conditioners

§ 20-716 Legislative findings.

The council hereby finds that the demand for electricity in the city has been steadily growing; that the supply of electricity has on frequent occasions been inadequate fully to meet the demand therefor; that the distribution system of the public utility company serving most of the city has frequently been disrupted by heavy loads; that major brownouts and blackouts in various sections of the city have frequently resulted from such conditions, particularly in the summer; that there is no present basis for concluding that such conditions will not continue for the foreseeable future; that fifty percent of the annual summer growth in demand for electricity in the city is due to air conditioning, that forty percent of the peak summer demand for electricity in the city is attributable to air conditioning; that room air conditioners use a significant part of the electricity used for air conditioning in the city; that the amount of electricity used by room air conditioners of comparable cooling capacity varies widely; that most sellers of room air conditioners do not presently advertise, display or otherwise provide prospective purchasers information as to the amount or cost of electricity required to operate the various models of room air conditioners; that such information, if provided, would lead consumers to purchase more efficient models; that the growth in demand for electricity in the city, particularly in summer months, would thereby be slowed and there would be an amelioration of some of the conditions which lead to brownouts and blackouts. The council also finds that an adequate supply of electricity is vital to the health, safety and welfare of all persons in the city. Accordingly, the council further finds that, in order to conserve electricity, there is a need to provide prospective purchasers of room air conditioners with information with respect to the efficiency and cost of operation of such units.

§ 20-717 Definitions.

   (a)   "Room air conditioner" shall be defined as any electrical appliance which has a compressor, a condenser, an evaporator and a fan to cool and dehumidify the surrounding air and which is capable in ordinary usage of being mounted in a window or through a wall.

   (b)   "Cooling capacity rating" shall be defined as the quantity of heat in British thermal units which a room air conditioner is capable of removing in one hour.

   (c)   "Wattage rating" shall be defined as the number of watts of electricity necessary to obtain the cooling capacity rating of a room air conditioner.

   (d)   "Person" shall be defined as any individual, firm, company, partnership, corporation, association or other organization who is ordinarily engaged in the business of selling or offering for sale room air conditioners.

§ 20-718 Display of information.

Any person selling, offering for sale or displaying for sale any room air conditioner shall set forth by a stamp, tab, label or sign at the point of display the model number, cooling capacity rating, wattage rating and estimated yearly cost of electricity necessary to operate such room air conditioner.