Bosch Gas & Electric Residential Tankless Water Heaters 2015 NAECA Standards

The U.S. Department of Energy has increased the energy factor requirements for residential water heaters effective April 16th, 2015 through the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA).

This update of regulations will affect all manufacturers selling residential water heaters in the U.S. Residential water heaters include storage type units that store heated water in an insulated tank and instantaneous type units that heat water on demand.

These standards only apply to gas fired storage (<=75 kBTU/h input), oil-fired storage (<=105 kBTU/h input), tabletop storage (<=12kW input), all electric (<=12kW input), and instantaneous gas (<200 h="" input="" kbtu="" p="">

Impact of NAECA standards:
Increased Energy Factor ratings on almost all residential water heater technologies and sizes will impact manufacturers, wholesalers, contractors, and end users.

Impact on Products:
Gas tankless water heaters:  Increased Energy Factor requirements will only allow models with EF 0.82 and over to be manufactured as of April 16th. Models operating at or over EF 0.82 will not be affected. Most of Bosch’s tankless water heaters fall in this category of EF over 0.82.

Impact on Wholesalers and Contractors:
These NAECA regulations will affect wholesalers and contractors and it is important to note these forthcoming changes. Tankless products may be a more suitable alternative in certain applications. Tank-type gas water heaters >55 gal. may require line voltage and condensate disposal. In addition, HPWH technology will be required in electric tank-type >55 gal.