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KOHL BILL TO IMPROVE WATER HEATING REQUIREMENTS WILL HELP MILWAUKEE'S WATER TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY

WASHINGTON - As the U.S. Senate convenes for the 112th Congress today, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl introduced the Water Heater Rating Improvement Act of 2011 establishing uniform standards to measure the efficiency of different types of water heaters.  Senator Kohl previously introduced this legislation in the 111th Congress.  

A globally-recognized cluster of water technology companies is emerging in the City of Milwaukee and surrounding counties.  An important part of this effort is innovative water heater technologies.  Incentivizing these products through predictable and equitable standards is vital to these companies.  

"Milwaukee is at the forefront of new technologies that save energy and water, and is home to companies that are vital to growing Wisconsin's economy.  Making sure that these American-made products are given the same consideration as other products is central to the success of these companies," Kohl said.  "In today's tough economy, energy bills continue to stretch family budgets.  Families can save money and conserve energy if they have accurate information about how much energy home appliances consume."  

The bill would direct the U.S. Department of Energy to establish a uniform energy efficiency descriptor for water heaters and improve the testing methods by which that descriptor is determined.  Current standards are outdated – smaller water heaters are measured by energy factor [EF], larger ones are measured by thermal efficiency [TE].  This system was based on an assumption that larger units would be used only in commercial applications, however, advances in technology have rendered this division obsolete. 

Furthermore, the testing to establish both EF and TE ratings is more than thirty years old.  Establishing one standard to measure water heater efficiency will eliminate customer confusion and enable an apples-to-apples efficiency comparison.    Furthermore, establishing one standard will help breakdown a patchwork of incentives and efficiency designations at both the state and federal level.  For example, water heaters rated with a TE rating are not eligible for the ENERGY STAR label, and accordingly, not eligible for many state appliance rebate programs that link their incentives to an ENERGY STAR designation.  This bill will make it so all products are competing on a level playing field for all incentives.  This legislation is supported by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).