Four leading water heater manufacturers — Bradford White Water Heaters, Rheem Water Heating, Rinnai America Corp. and A. O. Smith Water Heaters — have joined forces with the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) to become part of the Coalition for ENERGY STAR® Water Heaters. 

Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, manufacturers were allowed to apply the ENERGY STAR mark for the first time to their qualifying models.  For a gas-fired water heater to be eligible for ENERGY STAR, it must have a minimum energy factor (EF) of 0.62 for storage water heaters, a minimum EF of 0.80 for condensing storage water heaters, or a minimum EF of 0.82 for tankless water heaters. The ENERGY STAR criteria for gas-fired storage water heaters will increase to 0.67 on Sept. 1, 2010.  Criteria have also been established for heat pump water heaters and solar water heating systems.

To increase awareness of ENERGY STAR water heaters and demand in the market by reaching out to all points on the distribution system, CEE formed the Coalition for ENERGY STAR Water Heaters. The group is comprised of industry associations, efficiency program administrators and water heater manufacturers who are among those offering a variety of ENERGY STAR models.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy projections, Americans using ENERGY STAR qualified water heaters are expected to save approximately $780 million in utility costs while avoiding 4.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions after the first five years of the ENERGY STAR program. For more information on the Coalition for ENERGY STAR Water Heaters, please visit www.eswaterheaters.com.