The U.S. Department of Energy on Friday proposed energy efficiency standards on water heaters it said would save consumers $11.4 billion on energy and water bills annually.

The standards on residential water heater efficiency, which are required by Congress, have not been updated in 13 years. Water heating is responsible for roughly 13% of both annual residential energy use and consumer utility costs, the DOE said.

  • BarqsHasBite
    17•1 year ago

    The proposal would require the most common-sized electric water heaters to achieve efficiency gains with heat pump technology and gas-fired water heaters to achieve efficiency gains through condensing technology.

    The electric one is a pretty big design change.

    Interesting what industry says on it:

    A group including water heater maker Rheem, environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council and efficiency and consumer advocacy organizations issued a joint statement welcoming the new standards.

    Tankless water heater maker Rinnai (5947.T), however, said the proposed standards for its products were “technologically impossible” and would reduce consumer choice.

    PS if you want to reduce your hot water usage, turn off the shower while you’re soaping. I’ve got my shower down to like 1 minute of running water. Wash clothes on cold.

    • kitonthenet
      6•1 year ago

      Tankless water heater maker Rinnai

      were “technologically impossible”

      impossible for a tankless heater maybe, but Jesus the amount of power those things draw

      • @tinkeringidiot
        8•1 year ago

        When it’s on. When you aren’t using it, it draws zero. I’ve had a tankless electric for 8 years, and my power usage hasn’t changed much either up or down.

          • @tinkeringidiot
            1•1 year ago

            I doubt the energy savings would cover the cost difference in my case, and even if it did it’s worth a little extra to never run out of hot water.

            I’ll stick with the tankless.

            • kitonthenet
              1•1 year ago

              its somewhere like 3x more efficient, and for environmental standards, I’m sorry but your personal preference shouldn’t really matter. 3x is 3x

              • @schroedingershat
                2•1 year ago

                Storage water heaters can also capture off peak or curtailed energy (acting as 6-12kWh of diurnal storage), so they are more than 3x better in terms of emissions.

    • FishInABarrel
      4•1 year ago

      Heat pump water heaters already exist, but I think they’re pretty expensive compared to gas/resistive heat.

      I wouldn’t be surprised if electric tankless water heaters are indeed infeasible under this mandate. Heat pumps generally aren’t powerful, and tankless heaters require enormous amounts of power while in use.

      • Martin
        2•1 year ago

        Heat pump water heaters are pretty standard in large parts of the world. They are a bit expensive to install, but with today’s electric prices, they pay off quite fast.

    • Entropywins
      2•1 year ago

      If you really wanna reduce your hot water usage take a cold shower…

      • BarqsHasBite
        3•1 year ago

        Depends on the temp, I mean to measure it but around here I think it’s close to 0 C.