New Government Regulations for Water Heaters - Wisler Plumbing

On April 16, 2015, the Federal Government placed regulations on the efficiency of newly manufactured water heaters. Water heaters must now meet certain energy ratings. This will mean that there are important changes being made to the product’s manufacturing. Here’s what’s changed and how that will affect you as a homeowner.

First and foremost, 80 gallon standard electric and gas water heaters are no longer available. If you already have an 80 gallon electric or gas water heater, keep in mind that they are no longer being manufactured and you’ll have to replace them with something different once the time comes.

Secondly, meeting the required energy rating means that more insulation needs to be built around the water tank. That will result in the water heater becoming taller and wider. The size increase probably doesn’t seem like a big issue, especially if your water heater is in a basement with plenty of space. However, there are many condos, town homes, or special circumstances where water heaters are in a small closet with very little room to spare. An increase of 2 inches can mean that a new water heater will no longer fit in the same space.

What can you do about that once it comes time to change to a new water heater? You could definitely just change to a smaller water heater that fits into the smaller space. However, I wouldn’t recommend going any smaller if you need the hot water capacity that the old water heater provided. Another option is to switch to a tankless water heater. They are becoming extremely popular in the industry. Tankless water heaters are installed right on the wall and heat the water on demand, as needed.

Tankless water heaters take up much less space while also being very energy efficient. They also have a lifespan that lasts twice as long as tanked water heaters. You can take as many showers as you’d like without having to worry about running out of hot water (assuming that you provide the water heater with power/gas). There is obviously a cost that comes with these features, but when you pay attention to the energy/cost savings and longevity of the system, it will probably end up paying for itself.

Water heaters that meet the efficiency requirements have already been produced for some time now. There are Vertex water heaters that use a highly efficient heating process. There are also hybrid water heaters, meaning that they use multiple sources of energy. Electric hybrids have a heat pump on top of them that use the ambient air temperature to heat the water. They are good when you have a lot of space and want to save money. There are also electric and gas hybrid water heaters. We don’t use many gas hybrids—we’ll either use tankless or high-efficiency tank water heaters in many cases.

If you have any questions about what these new efficiency mandates mean to you, contact us online or give us a call at (540) 483-9382. Remember, these regulations only applies to newly manufactured water heaters, so if you have an older model in your home there’s no need to be concerned until it comes time for a replacement.