Reminder – The Next Building Energy Codes and Standards Committee (BECS) Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, January 15-16, 2025  in Greenville,  South Carolina at the  Embassy Suites Greenville Downtown Hotel. For meeting registration click here: BECS Committee Meeting.

AGA Comments on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  Backing Off Sunsetting Residential Fuel Fired Furnaces from its Energy Star Program – Supports EPA Proposal for Regional Levels But Supports a 92% AFUE Requirement for the South Region.

In the December 6, 2024 Update on End Use Codes and Standards, we reviewed the  May 18, 2023 EPA announcement  that “Consistent with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) focus on the potential for electric heat pumps to deliver energy-efficiency gains, pollution reduction and cost-savings to consumers, the ENERGY STAR program is proposing to sunset the certification pathway to the ENERGY STAR label for residential furnaces and central air conditioners (CACs). This will allow EPA to evolve the ENERGY STAR portfolio of product specifications toward identifying the most efficient electric equipment now available to consumers.”  Specifically, EPA  proposed to sunset the ENERGY STAR Version 4.1 Specification for Furnaces effective December 30, 2024, with no new certifications accepted after December 30, 2023.  On June 22, 2023, AGA filed comments objecting to the EPA proposed elimination of the ENERGY STAR program for residential fuel fired furnaces.  Also on June 22, 2023, AGA joined six other organizations, including the National Propane Gas Association, the American Public Gas Association, the National Energy & Fuels Institute, the Energy Marketers of America, the Oilheat Manufacturers Association, and the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors – National Association on joint comments (attached) also strongly objecting to the EPA’s proposal to sunset the ENERGY STAR certification for residential fuel fired furnaces.

On December 5th, the EPA distributed the attached Final Draft of the Version 5.0 ENERGY STAR Furnace Specification that maintains the Energy Star program for residential fuel fired furnaces but modified the criteria for compliance. Specifically, the revised performance requirements for gas furnaces are 97 AFUE for the North (currently 95 AFUE)  and 95 AFUE (currently 90 AFUE) for the South. EPA is proposing that the effective date for the revised compliance requirements is July 31, 2026.  On December 19th, AGA filed timely comments (attached) noting that we are pleased that the EPA has withdrawn its proposed elimination of Energy Star for residential fuel fired furnaces and maintaining a separate requirement for the Northern and Southern climates. We did reiterate our position in support of a 97% AFUE requirement in the north are but support a 92% AFUE compliance level in the south and not the 95% AFUE proposed by EPA. Finally, we would like to thank the BECS Committee members who filed comments in support of keeping the Energy Star program for residential fuel fired furnaces whose filed comments were instrumental in getting the EPA to back away from eliminating the recognition all together.  It is also important to recognize that EPA was preparing to sunset recognizing other gas products including water heaters, boilers, etc. from the Energy Star program and this action should cause the EPA not to proceed with those eliminations.

DOE Issues a Final Rule Pertaining to Standards for Gas-Fired Instantaneous Water Heaters (GIWH’s) – Bans Non-Condensing Technologies for Most GIWH’s.

Back on July 28, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (‘‘DOE’’) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (‘‘NOPR’’), in which DOE proposed amended energy conservation standards for consumer water heaters (‘‘July 2023 NOPR’’). That DOE proposal required that for the most popular sizes for gas instantaneous water heaters, less than 2 gallon and greater than 50,000 Btu/hour, an efficiency level that requires condensing technology. That level would eliminate the manufacturing of any instantaneous gas water heaters that are non-condensing types in that size catagory.  However in its May 6, 2024 Final Rule , DOE did not finalize a requirement for condensing only technology for gas instantaneous water heaters (giwh) by maintaining the current non-condensing minimum efficiency requirement.  For gas-fired instantaneous water heaters, DOE indicated that it was not finalizing standards in the May 2024 final rule, as it continued to consider comments submitted in response to earlier rulemaking stages before finalizing a decision on amended standards. On Tuesday, July 23rd, DOE issued a Federal Register notice of data availability (NODA) pertaining to energy conservation standards for consumer water heaters, specifically gas-fired instantaneous water heaters.  In this NODA, DOE stated that it was updating portions of its analysis for gas instantaneous water heaters. DOE requested comments, data, and information regarding the updated analysis and accepted comments, data, and information regarding this NODA no later than August 22, 2024. A review of the NODA revealed that the DOE continued to support a condensing only minimum efficiency requirement for impacted giwh’s based on its analysis that includes condensing technology as an improvement in each of its trial stages for improving their efficiency.  AGA, the American Public Gas Association (APGA) and the National Public Gas Association (NPGA) filed extensive technical economic and legal comments in support of DOE maintaining the availability of non-condensing giwh’s .  Unfortunately on Tuesday, DOE issued a pre-publication Federal Register final rule pertaining to energy conservation standards for gas-fired instantaneous water heaters that finalizes a condensing  requirement for giwh’s.  In this final rule, DOE adopted amended standards for gas-fired instantaneous water heaters less than 2 gallon and greater than 50,000 Btu/hour, at an efficiency level that requires condensing technology. According to the notice, “DOE has determined that the amended standards for these products would result in significant conservation of energy and are technologically feasible and economically justified. The effective date of this rule will be 75 days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.”  Compliance with the amended standards established for consumer water heaters in this final rule is required on and after 5 years after the date of publication in the Federal Register. Since a final rule has been issued, the only path to seek relief from the DOE regulation appears to be to seek a legal decision to halt or return the final rule back to DOE for a reanalysis of its justification for the condensing only requirement. We will be following any further efforts to seek a stay on the final rule specifically on the giwh’s .

State Codes Activity Update.

Attached is a weekly feature of the “Friday Update” covering state code calendar activities as presented by the online utility “Fiscal Note,” which is sponsored by APGA and AGA Code and Standards. Please review the update and determine if there are state code activities that impact your service territory or organization.