New U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy efficiency standards for residential water heaters will go into effect April 16, 2015. The standard will mandate that small-capacity electric water heaters (55 gallons or less) have an energy factor of 0.96. Large-capacity electric water heaters (55 gallons or more) should have an energy factor of 2.057. Electric water heaters larger than 55 gallons will require heat pump technology to meet the new efficiency levels.
According to the DOE, the 2015 standards will save approximately 3.3 quads of energy and $63 billion in energy costs for products shipped between 2015 and 2044. It will also avoid approximately 172.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
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