Title: A bill to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to modify the definition of water heater under energy conservation standards, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
This bill modifies the definition of water heater, and otherwise revises energy conservation standards and sets forth labeling requirements for water heaters.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4584 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4584

     To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to modify the 
definition of water heater under energy conservation standards, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 16, 2020

Ms. Stabenow (for herself and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to modify the 
definition of water heater under energy conservation standards, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. WATER HEATERS.

    (a) Definition of Water Heater.--Section 321 of the Energy Policy 
and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6291) is amended by striking paragraph 
(27) and inserting the following:
            ``(27) Water heater.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `water heater' means a 
                product that utilizes oil, gas, or electricity to heat 
                potable water for use outside the heater on demand, 
                including--
                            ``(i) storage type units that heat and 
                        store water at a thermostatically controlled 
                        temperature, including--
                                    ``(I) gas storage water heaters 
                                with an input of 75,000 Btu per hour or 
                                less, including heat pump type units 
                                that meet the current and voltage 
                                limits under clause (iii);
                                    ``(II) oil storage water heaters 
                                with an input of 105,000 Btu per hour 
                                or less; and
                                    ``(III) electric storage water 
                                heaters with an input of 12 kilowatts 
                                or less, including heat pump type units 
                                that meet the current and voltage 
                                limits under clause (iii);
                            ``(ii)(I) instantaneous type units that 
                        heat water but contain not more than 1 gallon 
                        of water per 4,000 Btu per hour of input; and
                            ``(II) in the case of--
                                    ``(aa) gas instantaneous water 
                                heaters, have an input of 200,000 Btu 
                                per hour or less and are designed and 
                                marketed to provide outlet hot water at 
                                a thermostatically controlled 
                                temperature of less than 180 degrees 
                                Fahrenheit;
                                    ``(bb) oil instantaneous water 
                                heaters, have an input of 210,000 Btu 
                                per hour or less; and
                                    ``(cc) electric instantaneous water 
                                heaters, have an input of 12 kilowatts 
                                or less;
                            ``(iii) heat pump type units (including 
                        add-on heat pumps, integrated heat pumps with 
                        storage, split-system heat pumps that consist 
                        of a separate heat pump and storage tank that 
                        are designed and marketed to operate together, 
                        and all ancillary equipment, such as fans, 
                        storage tanks, pumps, electric resistance 
                        heating elements, or controls necessary for the 
                        device to perform its function) that--
                                    ``(I) have a maximum current rating 
                                of 24 amperes at a voltage not greater 
                                than 250 volts; and
                                    ``(II) are designed to transfer 
                                thermal energy from 1 temperature level 
                                to a different temperature level for 
                                the purpose of heating water;
                            ``(iv) solar thermal-assisted electric 
                        storage units; and
                            ``(v) solar thermal-assisted fossil fuel 
                        storage units.
                    ``(B) Exclusions.--Unless otherwise determined by 
                the Secretary under section 325(e)(7)(B), the term 
                `water heater' does not include--
                            ``(i) electric storage type units described 
                        in subparagraph (A)(i)(III) that--
                                    ``(I) are designed and marketed 
                                exclusively for commercial building 
                                applications; and
                                    ``(II)(aa) are designed, 
                                constructed, inspected, tested, and 
                                stamped in accordance with Section IV, 
                                Part HLW, or Section X of the Boiler 
                                and Pressure Vessel Code promulgated by 
                                the American Society of Mechanical 
                                Engineers;
                                    ``(bb) exclusively use 3-phase 
                                electricity, are designed and marketed 
                                to provide outlet hot water at a 
                                thermostatically controlled temperature 
                                of 180 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, 
                                and operate only at rated voltages of 
                                not less than 208 volts; or
                                    ``(cc) exclusively use single-phase 
                                electricity, are designed and marketed 
                                to provide outlet hot water at a 
                                thermostatically controlled temperature 
                                of 180 degrees Fahrenheit or greater, 
                                and operate only at a rated voltage of 
                                277 volts; or
                            ``(ii) gas storage type units described in 
                        subparagraph (A)(i)(I) that--
                                    ``(I) are designed and marketed 
                                exclusively for commercial building 
                                applications; and
                                    ``(II) are designed, constructed, 
                                inspected, tested, and stamped in 
                                accordance with Section IV, Part HLW, 
                                of the Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code 
                                promulgated by the American Society of 
                                Mechanical Engineers.
                    ``(C) Multi-input electric storage water heater.--
                The term `multi-input electric storage water heater' 
                means a product that--
                            ``(i) is not a heat pump type unit 
                        described in subparagraph (A)(iii); and
                            ``(ii) is designed, marketed, or shipped 
                        from the manufacturer with a capability of 
                        operating or being configured to operate at 
                        inputs greater than, equal to, or below 12 
                        kilowatts.
                    ``(D) Solar thermal-assisted electric storage 
                unit.--The term `solar thermal-assisted electric 
                storage unit' means a unit that--
                            ``(i) has an input of 12 kilowatts or less;
                            ``(ii) has at least 2 dedicated ports in 
                        addition to the ports used for introduction and 
                        delivery of potable water for the supply and 
                        return of water or a heat transfer fluid heated 
                        externally by solar panels;
                            ``(iii) does not have electric resistance 
                        heating elements located in the lower half of 
                        the storage tank;
                            ``(iv) has the temperature sensing device 
                        that controls the auxiliary electric heat 
                        source located in the upper half of the storage 
                        tank; and
                            ``(v) has a ratio of less than 0.70 for the 
                        proportion that the certified first hour rating 
                        bears to the nominal volume of the storage 
                        tank.''.
    (b) Standards for Water Heaters.--Section 325(e) of the Energy 
Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6295(e)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:
            ``(7) Exempted water heaters.--
                    ``(A) Definition of exempted water heater.--In this 
                paragraph, the term `exempted water heater' means a 
                water heater described in section 321(27)(B).
                    ``(B) Monitoring of shipments.--
                            ``(i) Submission of data.--Not later than 
                        90 days after the date of enactment of this 
                        paragraph, and not later than May 1 of each 
                        year thereafter, the Secretary shall require 
                        each manufacturer of water heaters to report to 
                        the Secretary the quantity of exempted water 
                        heaters, in each category of exempted water 
                        heaters, that the manufacturer shipped in the 
                        preceding calendar year.
                            ``(ii) Confidentiality requirements.--The 
                        Secretary shall treat shipment data reported by 
                        manufacturers under clause (i) as confidential 
                        business information subject to appropriate 
                        confidential data safeguards.
                            ``(iii) Publication.--
                                    ``(I) Baseline shipment data.--Not 
                                later than 120 days after the date of 
                                enactment of this paragraph, the 
                                Secretary shall publish an analysis of 
                                the data collected under clause (i) for 
                                public comment, subject to applicable 
                                confidentiality safeguards, which shall 
                                serve as the baseline data for the 
                                analysis described in subclause 
                                (II)(bb).
                                    ``(II) Percentage growth from 
                                baseline.--Not later than June 1 of 
                                each year after the year in which the 
                                Secretary publishes data under 
                                subclause (I), the Secretary shall 
                                publish--
                                            ``(aa) an analysis of the 
                                        data collected under clause (i) 
                                        for public comment, subject to 
                                        applicable confidentiality 
                                        safeguards;
                                            ``(bb) the percentage 
                                        growth in the number of 
                                        shipments within each category 
                                        of exempted water heater 
                                        relative to the baseline data 
                                        described in subclause (I); and
                                            ``(cc) the determination of 
                                        the Secretary as to whether the 
                                        number of shipments for any 
                                        category of exempted water 
                                        heater have increased by more 
                                        than 25 percent compared to the 
                                        baseline data for that 
                                        category.
                    ``(C) Inclusion of exempted water heaters.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall, by 
                        regulation, revise the definition of water 
                        heater under section 321(27) to include an 
                        exempted water heater under subparagraph (A) of 
                        that section if the Secretary makes an 
                        affirmative determination under subparagraph 
                        (B)(iii)(II)(cc) for that category of exempted 
                        water heater.
                            ``(ii) Energy conservation standards.--Any 
                        category of exempted water heater included in 
                        the definition of water heater under clause (i) 
                        shall be required to meet the energy 
                        conservation standards applicable to an 
                        electric or gas storage type water heater under 
                        this part.
                            ``(iii) Effective date.--For any category 
                        of exempted water heater, the Secretary shall 
                        carry out clause (i), and require compliance 
                        under clause (ii), not later than 1 year after 
                        the date on which the Secretary makes the 
                        affirmative determination described in clause 
                        (i) for that category.
            ``(8) Standards for multi-input electric storage water 
        heaters.--A multi-input electric storage water heater shall be 
        subject to the test procedures, energy conservation standards, 
        labeling (if applicable), and certification requirements--
                    ``(A) for electric storage water heaters under this 
                part; and
                    ``(B) for storage water heaters under part C.
            ``(9) Technology-neutral electric storage water heater 
        standards.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
        the Secretary may not create separate product classes for heat 
        pump water heaters and other electric storage water heaters.''.
    (c) Definition of Commercial Water Heater.--Section 340 of the 
Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6311) is amended by 
striking paragraph (12) and inserting the following:
            ``(12)(A) Storage water heater.--
                    ``(i) In general.--The term `storage water heater' 
                means a water heater that--
                            ``(I) heats and stores water within an 
                        appliance at a thermostatically controlled 
                        temperature for delivery on demand; and
                            ``(II) is not a water heater described in 
                        section 321(27)(A).
                    ``(ii) Exclusion.--The term `storage water heater' 
                does not include a unit with an input rating of 4,000 
                Btu per hour or more per gallon of stored water.
            ``(B) Instantaneous water heater.--The term `instantaneous 
        water heater' means a water heater that--
                    ``(i) has an input rating of at least 4,000 Btu per 
                hour per gallon of stored water; and
                    ``(ii) is not a water heater described in section 
                321(27)(A).
            ``(C) Unfired hot water storage tank.--The term `unfired 
        hot water storage tank' means a tank used to store water that 
        is heated externally.''.
    (d) Labeling Requirements.--Section 344 of the Energy Policy and 
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6315) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(l) Labels for Certain Commercial Water Heaters.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this section, water heaters described in section 321(27)(B) 
        shall be required to bear a permanent label, applied at the 
        point of manufacture, that, subject to paragraph (3), satisfies 
        the requirements described in paragraph (2).
            ``(2) Requirements.--A label required under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    ``(A) be made of material not adversely affected by 
                water;
                    ``(B) be attached by means of nonwater-soluble 
                adhesive; and
                    ``(C) bear the following notice printed in 16.5 
                point Arial Narrow Bold font: `IMPORTANT INFORMATION: 
                Exclusively intended for commercial installations. This 
                model is not certified by the U.S. Department of Energy 
                as a residential water heater. This model does not have 
                a certified First Hour or UEF rating.'.
            ``(3) Revision upon petition.--On receipt of a petition by 
        an interested party, the Secretary may conduct a rulemaking to 
        revise the scope and requirements of the label required under 
        paragraph (1).''.
    (e) Effective Date.--This section and the amendments made by this 
section shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act.
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