According to the government, switching Australia’s electric storage hot water systems over to climate friendly systems will save more than 7.5 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution every year.

Under its Solar Hot Water plan, the government will provide low interest ‘green loans’ of up to $10,000 to make 200,000 existing homes more water and energy efficient by replacing electric storage hot water systems with solar, heat pump and high efficiency gas hot water systems.

The government will also work with industry to harmonise and accelerate State and Territory Government initiatives, implementing nationally consistent greenhouse and Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for hot water heaters.

The plan is that these standards will allow for the gradual phase-out of greenhouse intensive hot water systems in new homes and areas with access to reticulated gas in 2010, before extension to all homes by 2012.

The Australian Greenhouse Office has consulted industry about MEPS. Retailers are currently awaiting the release of the official Regulatory Impact Statement that will set out some options on MEPS levels and the timetable for their introduction, when the industry will have the opportunity to comment.

Making gas hot water heaters more energy efficient

Gas hot water suppliers today are compelled to provide increasingly energy efficient and low greenhouse gas emissions systems to meet demand. According to Rheem, 4 and 5 star products are now the largest selling form of gas water heater and Rinnai has recently released the first 6 star system. How are retailers keeping up with the pace?

Bosch agreed that, with the current focus on climate change, a major challenge for suppliers is to provide consumers with energy efficient hot water systems. “Bosch Hot Water’s Highflow range of hot water systems is among the most energy efficient in the market today, boasting a minimum 5.5 energy efficiency star rating and low NOx burners that produce the lowest levels of greenhouse gas emissions,” the company said.

Rinnai said that all its gas water heaters are very high efficiency and have energy label ratings over five stars.

“We recently introduced the Envirosmart, Australia’s first six star continuous flow water heater. This is achieved by utilising condensing combustion technology and increases efficiency by about 15 to around 94 per cent. We will continue to refine the range and introduce new and competitive 6 star products into the Infinity range over the next few years,” said Rinnai.

Rheem said it will continue to be at the leading edge in gas water heater design. Rheem’s range includes the 5 star Rheem Stellar storage water heaters and the Rheem Integrity range of 5 star instantaneous gas water heaters.

“Although 3 star gas products are still a very popular form of gas water heater, 4 and 5 star products are now the largest selling form of gas water heater,” a Rheem spokesperson said.

The increasing demand for energy efficient products prompted Rheem to produce and air new TV advertisements for both the Stellar and Integrity ranges during 2007, highlighting the energy efficiency of these products. The company has also spent a considerable sum taking the message about these products to plumbers and builders.

On the innovation front, Rheem said it commits a large sum to ongoing research and development, and there are several teams focussed on the development of new instantaneous and storage gas water heaters, working both here and overseas.

“We are constantly looking to challenge current thinking on water heater development and to push the boundaries of product design,” the company said.

Government policy on gas water heaters

Rinnai commented that “Most state governments and the Federal Government recognise that gas water heating, and particularly gas boosted solar water heating, reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The levels of rebates and incentives between states can be confusing and complicated, and there are discussions about a more consistent national approach. Rinnai supports this move as it will lead to more clarity for builders and users and will further encourage the use of gas water heaters.”

Rheem said that it would make specific comments about government policy once the Regulatory Impact Statement is released. However, the company did say “Whilst we believe that the industry does need to move towards lower emission water heaters, equally critical is that any change in regulation gives industry sufficient notice so that it can to adapt our products, the skills of our employees and our manufacturing capability.

“The Australian water heater manufacturing industry employs over 1,500 people and is worth tens of millions of dollars in export earnings, so we would hope that regulators take this into account when drafting new legislation,” said Rheem.

The future for gas water heaters in Australia

Rinnai believes the future for gas water heaters is likely to be in very high efficiency, competitively priced continuous flow and storage gas water heaters, with an increased emphasis on gas boosted solar water heaters.

Bosch said that consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the impact that their gas appliances are having on the environment and so gas hot water suppliers will likely increase their environmental focus in order to accommodate the shift in consumer needs.

“Increasing efficiency is the most likely future for gas water heaters, and with this we will most likely see an increase in the price of these products,” said Rheem’s spokesperson.

“The potential for some sort of phasing out of electric water heaters as flagged during the election is also likely to see an increase in the uptake of gas products, but at the moment the ability of the plumbing industry to meet any such surge in demand for conversion from electric to gas is unclear. A similar challenge will also be faced by the gas infrastructure providers, as any rapid increase in demand caused by regulatory change will put existing supply capability under pressure. Rheem is working with both groups to keep them aware of regulatory change.”