[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2975 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2975
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 4, 2021
Mrs. Dingell introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
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
tested without solar energy input.''.
(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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