 With the start of the year, new designations for Canadian ENERGY STAR® will begin having an increasing impact on energy use. Here are a few of the highlights.
As of January 1, 2009, domestic water heaters, a category formerly missing from the residential product lineup, will now be addressed. Canada differs slightly from their U.S. counterparts in several ways:
- Canada's water heater specs expand the nominal output range of tankless water heaters to a maximum of 250,000 Btu/hr. The U.S. program has maintained the size of tankless units from 50,000 to 200,000 Btu/hr.
- They require a “net solar energy contribution” equivalent to or greater than 7.0 Gj/year for year-round solar water heating units.
The certification of these units must be done through CSA International, using the appropriate CSA energy performance standard.
In both Canada and the United States, the minimum energy factor for gas-fired storage tank water heaters will increase on September 1, 2010 from the introductory level of 0.62 EF to 0.67.
NRCan proposed that tabletop units be excluded from the specification.
New specs cover gas fired and heat pump storage units, as well as gas fired tankless, and year-round solar heaters, provided they meet ENERGY STAR criteria, including minimum efficiency and other ratings, such as Energy Factor (EF), First Hour Ratings (FHR), and Litres Per Minute (LPM); length of warranty; and efficiency rating test methods. Manufacturers have one year after signing the ENERGY STAR Administrative Arrangement to offer at least one ENERGY STAR qualified water heater model.
Domestic clothes washers will have new specs beginning July 1, 2009. The requirements are a minimum Modified Energy Factor (MEF) of 1.8 and a maximum Water Factor (WF) of 7.5. On January 1, 2011, the requirements will change again to a minimum MEF of 2.0 and a maximum WF of 6.0. Only standard size front- and top-loading clothes washers are affected. The specification has changed as a result of the increased availability of more efficient washers since the last set of efficiency levels in 2007.
Central air conditioners are another category seeing changes. The Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) and Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) specs for split air conditioners will increase on January 1, 2009 from 14.0 to 14.5 (SEER) and 11.5 to 12.0 (EER). Single package air conditioners will keep the same specs as those adopted previously.
Air source heat pumps will see similar revisions for split heat pumps. On January 1, the SEER figures go from 14.0 to 14.5 and EER from 11.5 to 12.0, respectively. Likewise, single package heat pump specs will stay the same as those put in place in April 2006.
In a related development, on January 16th, the Canadian government announced a new comprehensive guide to energy efficiency for industry. The Energy Savings Toolbox, developed in conjunction with provinces, territories and industry stakeholders, provides a step-by-step methodology to help industry identify and capitalize on energy savings. The Toolbox, published on CD and available at no charge from Natural Resources Canada, offers a detailed reference for understanding and managing energy use in every phase of an operation, from designing and conducting an energy audit to carrying out cost-benefit analyses. |
