Thursday, February 26, 2015

There is never a good time to learn your hot water heater is failing. But anyone in the market for a new water heater should become familiar with new national mechanical guidelines going into effect this spring.

One Reno, Nev. REALTOR® blogged about this new amendment to the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act, known as the “2015 DOE Final Rule” requiring higher energy factor ratings on essentially all residential gas, electric, oil, and tankless gas water heaters.

The Dept. of Energy Final Rule will be a minor change in some cases, but those homeowners with larger volume tanks may need structural modifications to accommodate the potentially taller, wider, and heavier water heater. The update involves something called the 'required energy factor (EF)' which varies depending on the type of water heater and the rated storage volume.

For gas-fired and electric storage water heaters with a volume greater than 55 gallons, the standards effectively require heat pumps for electric storage products and condensing technology for gas storage products.

The DOE says the standard will save 2.6 quads of energy over 30 years or about enough energy to meet the total energy needs of about 13 million typical U.S. households for one year. Over the same 30-year period, consumers will save about $8.7 billion and carbon dioxide emissions will be cut by 154 million metric tons.

While there is not much potential for additional efficiency gains for conventional gas and electric storage water heaters, however, heat pumps can decrease energy use by about 50% compared to electric storage water heaters while condensing gas water heaters can reduce energy consumption by about 25 percent compared to conventional gas storage products.

A client notice from Pennsylvania-based Bradford White Water Heater company states electric water heaters will likely require more insulation increasing the diameter and/or height of the water heater. Additional insulation may be required for piping and fittings such as drain and T&P valves.

For electric water heaters over 55 gallons, the only currently available technology able to meet the EF requirement is a heat pump water heater. To meet the required minimum EF, gas models may require additional insulation, incorporate newer flue baffling technologies (including flue dampers), incorporate electronic ignition in lieu of the standing pilot, or any combination of these.

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