DOE has published a Federal Register final rule pertaining to energy conservation standards for commercial water heating (CWH).The Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) requires DOE to periodically review standards. In this final rule, DOE is adopting amended standards for CWH equipment.

• The effective date of this rule is December 5, 2023 .
• Compliance with the amended standards established for CWH equipment in this final rule is required on and after October 6, 2026.

DOE has published a Federal Register final rule incorporating by reference the latest version of the industry testing standard for consumer water heaters and residential-duty commercial water heaters and adopts relevant portions of those standards into the Federal test procedure. In this final rule, DOE is also expanding the scope of coverage of the test procedure to apply to certain consumer water heater designs (including circulating water heaters and low-temperature water heaters), adding definitions for certain specialty water heaters, updating test conditions and tolerance requirements to reduce burden, clarifying test set-up and installation methods, addressing the test conduct for products which can store water at temperatures above the delivery setpoint, establishing an effective volume calculation, and extending untested provisions to electric instantaneous water heaters.

• The effective date of this rule is July 21, 2023.
• The final rule changes will be mandatory for consumer water heater testing starting December 18, 2023 and for residential-duty commercial water heater testing June 17, 2024. 
• The incorporation by reference of certain publications listed in the rule is approved by the Director of the Federal Register on July 21, 2023.

PETITION FOR RULEMAKING

For the latest information on the planned timing of future DOE regulatory milestones, see the current Office of Management and Budget Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. All planned dates are preliminary and subject to change.

Commercial water heating equipment manufactured and distributed in commerce, as defined by 42 U.S.C. 6291(16), must meet the energy conservation standards specified in the Code of Federal Regulations at 10 CFR 431.110.

To determine that commercial water heating equipment that is currently manufactured or distributed into commerce is in compliance with DOE standards, manufacturers must follow the test procedure methods specified at 10 CFR 431.106.