On October 20, 2017, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) published an “Enforcement Policy Statement for Certain Consumer Water Heaters with Commercial Applications,” which impacts the product offering Rheem® brings you.
The policy can be found on this DOE webpage, as the third document listed:
https://energy.gov/gc/downloads/enforcement-policy-certain-consumer-water-heaters-and-commercial-water-heating
The Enforcement Policy continues to allow the manufacture and sale of commercial water heater models now meeting the regulatory definitions of consumer/residential water heaters. The main difference is the policy now requires that all covered commercial products must not be marketed or sold for residential use.
Therefore, we will not be discontinuing our commercial electric storage water heater models – specifically, our Electric Light Duty ELD66, ELD80, ELD120 models and our Marathon Heavy Duty MHD75, MHD85, and MHD105 models. This DOE policy allows those models to be sold into 2018 and beyond.
This new Enforcement Policy becomes effective on January 1, 2018 and does not have an expiration date, although the DOE has reserved the right to end the policy as they deem appropriate. All of the covered consumer products subject to this Enforcement Policy must meet the federal energy efficiency standards for commercial water heaters of similar type, size, etc.
Additionally, DOE incorporated new elements into this latest Enforcement Policy, which allow a broader array of products to be covered under its scope. A product under this policy can be considered commercial if it falls into one of the following three categories:
- New Water Heaters — Applies to products certified with DOE after May 1, 2015. Must either have:
a rated storage capacity of greater than 120 gallons, or
operate on 3-phase electrical power supply only, or
a storage tank certified to ASME construction standards. - Grandfathered Water Heaters — Applies to products certified with DOE at or before May 1, 2015 and are designed to provide thermostat controlled water temperature at a temperature greater than 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
- “Catch-All” Water Heaters — Other products that may not meet the requirements of the above categories but have a designated commercial-only purpose. Such products will be scrutinized by DOE to ensure deliberate design, marketing, and distribution is clearly for commercial use only. They should not be sold or marketed to the residential market.
As always, we appreciate your business and support of Rheem water heaters. We will keep you updated and informed of any updates to this Enforcement Policy or further changes in the federal regulations, so you can best plan your business needs.
