Water Heater Criteria Development

Water heating represents between thirteen and seventeen percent of residential energy consumption, making it the third largest energy end use in homes, behind HVAC and kitchen appliances. Water heating is the only major residential energy end use that the ENERGY STAR program does not address. To deal with this issue, the U.S. Department of Energy is in the process of establishing an ENERGY STAR residential water heater program.

Final Criteria

Preliminary — October 26, 2007

If you have questions or concerns, please direct them to Richard Karney at richard.karney@ee.doe.gov.

Preliminary — May 2, 2007

Third Round Comments

Second Round Comments

Stakeholder Meeting — June 5, 2007

First Round Comments

Criteria Development History

DOE last reviewed water heaters in 2003. After analyzing the market, the potential energy savings and economics of the various technologies, and considering feedback from stakeholders, DOE decided not to establish an ENERGY STAR criteria for domestic water heaters at that time. A letter PDF (143KB) from Richard Karney, the Department’s ENERGY STAR Program Manager explains the rationale for this decision.

For more information on buying an energy efficient water heater we recommend visiting DOE’s Water Heating Exit ENERGY STAR.

Tax Credits on Water Heaters

Tax credits are available on new water heaters in 2006 and 2007 under the Energy Bill. For more information, see Federal Tax Credits for Residential Energy Efficiency.