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| New ENERGY STAR criteria for water heaters The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced new ENERGY STAR criteria for water heaters, the first in the history of the program. According to DOE projections, by the end of the fifth year in effect, the new water heater criteria are expected to save Americans approximately $780 million in utility costs, avoid 4.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, and achieve cumulative energy savings of more than 3.9 billion kilowatt-hours and 270 million therms of natural gas. Water heating currently represents up to 17 percent of national residential energy consumption, making it the third largest energy user in homes, behind heating and cooling, and kitchen appliances. "The ENERGY STAR program empowers consumers to make smart energy choices that will save money, and energy, and reduce our carbon footprint," DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Andy Karsner said. "Expansion of the ENERGY STAR program to include water heaters will give Americans yet another way to more efficiently use energy in their homes and, in the interest of increasing energy security and addressing climate change, help further the President's goal of fundamentally changing the way this nation uses power." For the first time, the following five categories of residential water heaters will be eligible for an ENERGY STAR label: high-performance gas storage, whole-home gas tankless, advanced drop-in or integrated heat pump, solar, and gas condensing. The new criteria for high-efficiency and high-performance gas storage water heaters will take effect in two phases. The first phase goes into effect January 1, 2009, and requires gas storage water heaters to have a minimum Energy Factor (EF) of 0.62 - or they must be 6.9 percent more efficient than the Federal Standard. Energy Factor is a measurement of relative energy efficiency for a water heater; the higher the Energy Factor, the more energy efficient the water heater. A fifty-gallon high-performance gas storage water heater which meets the new ENERGY STAR criteria, for example, is estimated to yield annual savings of 7.3 percent and save $26 using the national average gas rate. Effective September 1, 2010, phase two requires the EF to increase to 0.67 - or 15.5 percent more efficient than the Federal Standard, resulting in annual savings of 14 percent and $51 for a single high-performance gas storage water heater. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Construction News :: home page |