September 29, 2014

The Honorable Ernest Moniz Secretary of Energy U.S. Department of Energy Forrestal Building 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 200585

- 1000

Re: Petition for Re peal of Certain Provisions of DOE Rule on Test P rocedu res for
Residential Water Heaters and Certain Commercial Water Heaters , Docket No. EERE

2011

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Dear Secretary Moniz:

The Air

- Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) 1 respectfully requests that the Department of Energy (DOE) rep eal certain parts of the rule for efficiency test procedures for

residential and commercial water heaters published in the Federal Register on July 11, 2014. 79 Fed. Reg. 40542 (July 11, 2014).

AHRI seeks repeal of the t est p rocedure final rule 2 solely in regards to amendments made to
Section s 429.17 and 429.134 that address the rated volume of residential storage water heaters. The amendment to 429.17 (a)(ii)(C) requires that the rated volume value must be the mean of the storage volumes measured on the units that were tested to establish the model’s ratings. The amendment to 429.134 (d)(2) makes the rated volume subject to DOE’s enforcement provisions

. These amendments in effect increase the stringency of the applicable minimum efficiency
standards for residential gas, electric, and o il storage water heaters in violation of 42 U

. S

. C

. §

1 AHRI is the trade association representing manufacturers of air conditioning, heating, commercial refrigeration, and water heating equipment. AHRI’s 320 member companies employ approximately 130,000 men and women in the Unite d States. The total value of member shipments by these companies is over $20 billion annually. AHRI’s water heater manufacturer members account for essentially all residential storage water heaters and well over 90% of all residential water heaters sold an d installed in

the U.S.

2 The Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 5 U.S.C. §553, requires that “each agency shall give an interested person the right to petition for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule.” (5 U.S.C. § 553(e)). This right is necessary to protect interested pa rties from rulemakings that may be in error, that exceed statutory authority, or are otherwise invalid. AHRI is not asking DOE to repeal any energy efficiency standard that would fall within 42 U

. S

. C

. § 6295(o)(1), but to correct an error in the final rul e addressing the test procedure. 42 U.S.C. §6293(b)(2).A HRI Petition re: EERE

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September 29 , 2014 Page 2

6293(e). They also were not necessary to satisfy DOE’s obligation to develop a uniform efficiency descriptor for residential and commercial water heaters, as required by the American Energy Manufacturing Technical Corrections Act (AEMTCA) of 2012; they do not address any efficiency performance issue for water heaters; and they were not developed to respond to any problem that was identified by commenters during the rulema king. AHRI and its members have
worked diligently over the last fifty years to improve the energy efficiency of HVACR and Water Heating equipment. It is only out of concern for the applicability of increased efficiency standards through the t est p rocedure amendment, and the altera tion of industry practice and the scope of DOE’s regulatory authority over the past 25 years, that AHRI respectfully seeks re p eal
of the referenced provisions of the t est p rocedure final rule

.

At the December 6, 2013

, p ublic hearing for this rulemaking, DOE presented data that showed the average rated storage volume of 19 electric water heaters was 9.4% higher than measured and the average rated storage volume of 44 gas water heaters was 4.8% higher than measured. From the perspective of the rated volume, the measured volume of the electric water heaters averaged
about 8.6% less than the rated v olume and the measured volume of the gas water heaters averaged about 4.6% less than the rated volume. At that meeting and in t he comments we submitted on January 4, 2014

, we provided information explain ing why this data was neither unusual nor alarming. We noted that the relationship of measured volume and rated volume is addressed by the applicable national, consensus water hea ter standards. These standards address safety and other aspects of residential water heater models. The system of building code regulations in the U. S., along with other demands of the market, create a situation that makes compliance with these standards mandatory for any residential water heater intended to be sold
and installed in the U.S.

The standard for residential electric water heaters, UL 174 requires the following:

33 Water Capacity Test

33.1 The actual water capacity of a water heater sh all be no less than 90 percent of the
marked rated capacity.

33.2 Unless the actual capacity of a water tank is known, or is obviously 90 percent or
more of the rated capacity, the tank capacity is to be m easured by any convenient means.

The standard for residential type gas storage water heaters, American National Standard

Z21.10.1 3

, requires the following:

2.26 Capacities of Storage Vessels

The storage vessel capacity shall be within ± 5.0 percent of the manufacturer’s rated capacity.

3 The preface for ANSIZ21

. 10.1 states “This publication represents a basic standard for safe operation, substantial and durable construction, and acceptable performance of storage gas water heaters...”A HRI Petition re: EERE

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Method of Test

The storage capacity shall be determined by weighing the system when dry and empty and reweighing it when full or by filling the system with water, the weight of which has been predetermined. The capacity shal l then be computed in gallons and compared with

th e manufacturer’s rated capacity.

Accordingly, the data presented by DOE is in conformance with industry practice consistent with the requirements of the applicable national standards. This practice has been in place for at least the past 5 0 years

. If the re were a real concern that this typical difference between the measured

volume and the rated volume impacted the minimum efficiency standards or consumer information , that concern would have evidenced itself already.

The requirements noted above existed in the applicable water heater standards when the first minimum energy factor (EF) standards for residential water heaters were established by the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987. We can attest with absolute certainty that

those minimum EF standards were developed with full knowledge of the relationship of measured and storage volume for those water heaters. The data from DOE’s test, when properly considered in terms of the relationship of how the measured volume compares to the rated

v olume, reflects what is, and has been, the standard practice for residential storage water heaters for more than 40 years. The measured volume is lower than the rated volume. That relationship has not change d significantly in all those years . The test pr ocedure establish ed in this rulemaking does not change the situation at all. As DOE validated, the measured volumes of storage water heaters are consistently complying with the requirements of the nationally recognized standards. Manufacturers are not over stating the rated volume so that the minimum energy factor requirement for that model would be lower

. In this rulemaking, DOE clearly knew that the measured volume of residential electric water
heaters was somewhere around 9% less than the rated volume and the measured volume of residential gas water heaters was somewhere around 4.5% less than the rated volume. These

results reflect the respective requirements for electric and gas water heaters specified in the

national consensus standards cited above. R e cognizing that in an enforcement situation manufacturers still need some margin to address test variability , the requirement of 429.17(a ) ( ii ) ( C) will have the effect of lowering the rated volume of every electric storage water heater by 10% and lowering th e rated volume of every gas and oil storage water heater by 5%

. Manufacture r s cannot feasibly redesign their products to make the measured volume match the

current rated volume values. Any such redesign is precluded by the efficiency standards which

alrea dy require several inches of insulation around the tank. A larger tank with the same amount of insulation will produce models that are either too wide to fit through standard doorways or too tall to fit into existing installation spaces. Furthermore, the cost to spend the time and money to redesign and test models just for a cosmetic change is prohibitive

. The impact and chang e to the efficiency standards for existing products is illustrated in t he table

below , which shows : 1) the rated volume siz es t hat make up a manufacturer’s line of residentialA HRI Petition re: EERE

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water heaters ; 2) t he new rated volume that will be requir ed to comply with 429 .17(a)(ii)(C); 3) the current minimum EF requirement for each of these sizes using the respective rated volume

value s ; and 4) th e revised minimum EF requirement going into effect on April 16, 2015

, for each of these sizes using the respective rated volume value s

. The red bolded values show the higher minimum standards that result from the amendments addressing the rated volume. ( No te, recognizing DOE’s certification and enforcement provisions, the “ New DOE ” rated volumes are rounded to whole integer values. )

Gas Storage Water Heaters

Electric Storage Water Heaters 

### Rated Volume (G) Current Federal Minimum

EF ≥ 

### .67

- .0019V Revised Federal Minimum

EF ≥ 

### .675

- .0015V
Current New DOE Current New DOE Current New DOE

30 28 .61 .62 .63 .63

40 38 .59 .60 .62 .62

50 47 .58 .58 .60 .60

>55 >55 EF ≥ 

### .67

- .0019V EF ≥ 

### .8012

- .00 078V

65 62 .55 .55 .75 .75

75 71 .53 .53 .74 .75

Rated Volume (G) 

### Current Federal Minimum

EF ≥ 

### .97

- .00132V Revised Federal Minimum

EF ≥ 

### .96

- .0003V

Current New DOE Current New DOE Current New DOE

30 27 

### .93 .93 .95 .95

40 36 

### .92 .92 .95 .95

50 45 

### .90 .91 .95 .95

>55 >55 .97

- .00132V 2.057

- . 00113V

65 58 

### .88 .89 1.98 1.99

80 72 

### .86 .88 1.97 1.98

100 90 

### .84 .85 1.94 1.96

119 107 

### .81 .83 1.92 1.94A HRI Petition re: EERE

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Oil Storage Water Heaters

The tables above clearly illustrate that implementation of the new 4 29.17 (a)(ii)(C) amendment

increases the current and upcoming revised federal minimum effici ency requirement s for several

siz es of residential storage water heaters. Furthermore, this change , if applied to the current standards, makes the subset of models in these sizes t hat are rated at the current minimum EF,

now non

- compliant with the federal standard

. The July 11, 2014

, final rule established a uniform efficiency descriptor and associated test procedure for water heaters. Although the storage volume m ust be measured for purposes of the test, the value of the rated volume has no bearing on the calculations that determine the efficiency using this test procedure. The applicable provisions of AEMTCA make no mention of regulating the rated volume nor were any comments submitted during the rulemaking process raising this as an issue requiring DOE action. These amendments attached to the UED test

proce dure rule are unrelated and unnecessary issues that were generated by DOE without any external request or jus tification . In the final rule notice DOE plainly states its purpose for these amendments: “DOE seeks to eliminate any potential incentives for manufacturers to continue the current practice of exaggerating the storage volume of water heaters currently on t he market by inflating the rated volume as compared to the actual measured volume.” If, in fact, the rated volume of storage water heaters was an issue, it would be a consumer disclosure or labeling issue, and the appropriate action would be proposal of a consumer protection or product advertising rule by a Federal agency responsible for such matters

. It is inappropriate and outside the scope of DOE’s statutory authority in a regulation covering water heater efficiency test procedures. Furthermore, castin g a practice that h as been in place for more than 5 0 years , and
codified in the related water heater national standards as an “exaggeration of storage volume” and judging manufacturers as “inflating the rated volume” indicate a bias on DOE’s part that is

u nwarranted and unrelated to DOE’s role of developing test procedures and effic iency standards.

In the final rule notice, DOE s tated that the efficiency of a water heater is related to the rated storage volume. Thus, it is within DOE’s authority to regula te. That statement is incorrect and cannot be used to attempt to justify this action as within DOE’s authority. It has long been recognized that the rated storage volume has no direct effect on how efficiently a given model of water heater operates and th at the volume of the storage tank cannot be used as the metric to represent the water heater’s hot water delivery capability

. Since the very first federal efficiency test procedures for residential water heaters developed in the late 1970s, the measure of a storage Rated Volume (G) Current Federal Minimum EF ≥ .59

- .0019 V 

### Revised Federal Minimum

EF ≥ 

### .68

- .0019V

Current New DOE Current New DOE Current New DOE

30 28 .53 .54 .62 .63

50 47 .50 .50 .59 .59A HRI Petition re: EERE

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water heater’s efficiency has been energy factor (EF) . The measure of the storage water heater’s performance, generally referred to as capacity, is the first hour rating (FHR)

. The first hour rating of a storage water heater is a combination of the volume of water in the storage tank, the input rate of the model, and how efficiently energy is transferred to the water in the tank. When the first hour rating test is conducted on a unit, the actual volume of the tank, not the rated volume, contribu tes to the final measured result. As a an example, when properly sized the hot water needs of a particular household may be met by a gas model that has a rated volume of 40

or 50 gallons or an electric model that has a rated volume of 50 or 65 gallons or a gas instantaneous (tankless) model , which has no storage volume

. Additionally the residential water heater sizing specifications in the national model plumbing codes use the FHR, not the rated volume, as the basis for selecting the properly sized stora ge water heater for a given installation.

This information illustrates why the first hour rating is the appropriate metric to represent a storage water heater’s ability to deliver hot water and how it has been used in the field for many

years

. The EF and FHR have been and continue to be the two certified values for storage water heaters measured by the test procedure. There have not been any issues in the field related to the relationship between the rated and measured volume.

It is correct that the rat ed storage volume is used in the equations that esta blish the specific EF minimum requirement for a give n size storage water heater

. However, that is the minimum efficiency standard that a r esidential storage water heater model must meet. It is not the

e fficiency of the water heater model. As illustrated by our most critical point, DOE has appeared

to have missed that distinction. If every storage water heater model c urrently on the market today were to have its rated volume lowered to comply with the am endments in this final rule, there would be no change to the efficiency of any one of those models. Likewise, there would be no energy savings achieved by those new rated volume values.

As we have illustra ted, the value o f the rated volume does influence the minimum EF standard. A higher rated volume does result in a lower EF requirement. The theoretical possibility that a rated volume would be overstated to get a lower minimum EF requirement has existed since the

first NAECA standards went into effect in 1990 . In our comments, we explained how this possibility has never occurred. DOE acknowledged this in the final rule notice. An examination of the influence of federal efficiency standards on rated volume shows an effect opposite to the concern of “higher ” rated volume values. The following table shows the typical rated volumes for a manufacturer’s standard product line of gas and electric water heaters in 1990 and today. In a number of cases, the rated volumes have decreased. This is a direct consequence of adding more insulation to a model whose outside diameter cannot change for practical installation concerns. The remaining option is to make the diameter of the storage water tank smaller. Since

the measured volume is small er , compliance with the applica ble standard requires the rated

volume to be lowered. There are no rated volumes that increased.A HRI Petition re: EERE

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Gas Rated Volume Electric Rated Volume
1990 2014 1990 2014
30 30 30 27/30 **
40 40 40 38/40
50 50 52 47/50

65 * 66 65
75 75 82 80
100 *** 100
120 119 *This model size did not exist in 1990. It is a downsized version of the historical 75 gallon

model

. **The listing of two sizes indicates that both sizes are in the product line. ***Only some manufacturers offer this model size.

Even though the oth er standards require ments and market influences, which ma de the possibility

of overstated rated volumes unrealistic

, have remained the same for 40 years, DOE attempts to justify this punitive measure because of a desire to rule out this possibility in the future. That reasoning ignores the fact that the “future” minimum efficiency standards that go into effect on April 16, 2015, are an overwhelmingly compelling incentive to not “inflate” the rated volume of a residential storage water heater above 55 gallon s. The minimum efficiency requirements for

models above 55 gallons are significantly more stringent than those for models less than 55 gallons. Furthermore, for electric storage water heaters 55 gallons or smaller the revised

minimum EF standard is the sa me ; i.e .95, for all rated volume sizes.

Recognizing the significance of this change and the process by which it was effected, we request

immediate action to re p eal the amendments involving the certification and enfo rcement of rated

volume values. AHRI will work with DOE to develop an alternative solution to the concern that an overstated rated volume, outside the requirements of the national conse nsus water heater

sta ndards could lower the minimum EF requirement for a particul ar model of storage water heater. As we have noted, this is fundamentally a consumer disclosure or labeling issue. Accordingly we believe that the Federal Trade Commission should be involved in the development of an alternative solution and that one opti on that should be considered is use of the FTC EnergyGuide label, which will be undergoing significant changes next year to reflect the ratings based on the use of the Universal Efficiency Descriptor test procedure.

Respectively Submitted,

Frank A. Stan onik
Chief Technical Advisor