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New energy efficiency standards for home water heaters being proposed by the US Administration do not go far enough, says the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

The new standards will cover the nine million residential water heaters sold every year that account for an estimated 20% of a typical homes’ energy consumption. Savings on the order of 2.6 quads of energy over 30 years will result, says the Department of Energy (DOE), reducing customers bills by around $15.6 billion and emissions by 154 million metric tons.

However, the new requirements can be met simply by adding more insulation to conventional tank-style water heaters and do not require a switch to next-generation technologies such as condensing gas and electric heat pump water heaters.

While the move is a step in the right direction, says the ACEEE, it is a wasted opportunity to make even greater energy savings.

“This proposal captures significant and cost-effective energy savings from conventional water heater technologies, but it does little to advance new technologies which can provide much larger energy and economic savings,” says Steven Nadel, executive director of ACEEE.

More energy efficient condensing gas and electric heat pump water heaters could add up to savings of nearly 17 quads – a reduction of $48 billion in consumer costs and 965 million in CO₂ emissions. But the DOE says such a transition would require a complete retooling of the industry and would be too expensive and disruptive for consumers.

The ACEEE suggests a middle ground option where more efficient advanced technologies are required for large heaters over 55 gallons, which make up only a relatively small portion of the market.

“We agree that it’s too early to mandate next generation technologies for the entire water heater market,” says Nadel. “But if the DOE required this shift for the very biggest water heaters, the energy, economic, and CO₂ savings would increase by about 40% compared to the department’s proposal.”

Tightening up the proposed standard for large water heaters could increase savings to 3.7 quads, which equates to $22 billion for consumers and 217 million metric tons in CO₂ emissions.

“We’re disappointed that the Obama Administration has shied away from making even a modest first step to transition America to the most efficient types of water heaters,” agrees Andrew deLaski, executive director, of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project.

For further information:
www.aceee.org
standardsASAP.org
www.energy.gov

Related stories:
US heating and ventilation equipment manufacturers agree new standards (14-Oct)
ORNL and GE collaboration plans to halve water heating costs (6-Jun 2008)
US launches energy ratings for water heaters (10-Apr 2008)