AHRI Urges Support for Water Heater Definition Bill
ARLINGTON, Va. – Leaders of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) issued a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate energy committees seeking support for legislation (H.R. 7962/S. 4061) that would amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to clarify the definitions of residential and commercial water heaters.
The legislation corrects an error in a final test procedure rule for commercial water heaters, issued in November 2016 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), that required manufacturers to rate some of those units using residential water heater efficiency standards. This created turmoil within the industry and resulted in property owners and small business owners spending resources to find alternative solutions because the commercial water heating equipment that fit their needs was no longer available.