The Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) Gas Committee – consisting of officials and representatives from Australian Federal, State, Territory and New Zealand government energy efficiency agencies – along with the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) and other industry associations, has proposed that MEPS be applied to gas water heaters (GWH), with the practical effect of excluding GWH with energy ratings of less than 5 stars.

It is proposed that a ban will be placed on both the import and manufacture of such appliances from October 2008, with allowances for a transition period, and that energy rating be determined by a new regulatory standard containing methods of test for energy efficiency to replace parts of Australian Standard AS 4552, Gas fired water heaters for hot water supply and/or central heating.

The E3 Committee’s cost-benefit analysis report for this proposal says that Australia’s total greenhouse emissions in 2010 are projected to be 603 MT CO2-e, with emissions from GWH contributing 0.83 per cent of that amount.

“There are significant failures in the market for energy efficient GWH,” says the report.

Article continues below…

With the proportion of households in Australia and New Zealand with GWH continuing to increase, and expected to approach 42 per cent in 2020, governments and industry bodies are attempting to correct these failures in the near future.

Alternative policy approaches have been assessed by the E3 Committee, and it has found that information and education programs can complement MEPS but are not an effective substitute.

Similarly, the committee has said there is no realistic prospect that other regulatory forms – such as self-regulation or regulation by industry bodies – will be effective, saying “Experience teaches that suppliers engage most effectively with the E3 Program when there is the prospect of regulation by ‘black letter’ law.”

The committee also found that while it is likely that a national greenhouse emissions trading scheme will be introduced during the life of the regulation, the Prime Ministerial Task Group on Emissions Trading has recently argued the case for complementary measures, including efficiency regulations.

The E3 Committee estimates that, in response to the measures, a total of 0.87 million GWH will be upgraded from 3.2 stars to 5.4 stars in the period from 2009 to 2020. Accordingly, the committee expects that the growth of emissions in the decade to 2020 should increase by only 12.2 per cent, compared with a 15.7 per cent increase that is expected if the regulatory changes are not implemented.