Residential Pool Heaters
Manufacturers have been required to comply with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) energy conservation standards for residential pool heaters since 1990. Residential pool heaters are used to heat water for use in swimming pools, spas, hot tubs, and similar applications.
Standards for gas-fired pool heaters mandatory in 2013 will save approximately 0.02 quads of energy and result in approximately $43 million in energy bill savings for products shipped from 2013-2043. The standard will avoid about 1.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of about 255,000 automobiles.
Recent Updates | Standards | Test Procedures | Waiver, Exception, and Exemption Information | Statutory Authority | Historical Information | Contact Information
DOE has published a Federal Register notice of data availability regarding energy conservation standards for pool heaters. 80 FR 65169 (October 26, 2015). For more information please see the rulemaking webpage.
Standards for Residential Pool Heaters
The following content summarizes the energy conservation standards for residential pool heaters. The text is not an official reproduction of the Code of Federal Regulations and should not be used for legal research or citation.
Waivers
Test procedure waivers have not been issued for pool heaters.
For information about obtaining test procedure waivers, see 10 CFR section 430.27.
Exceptions
DOE's Office of Hearings and Appeals has not authorized exception relief for pool heaters.
For information about obtaining exception relief, see 10 CFR part 1003.
State Exemptions to Federal Pre-emption
DOE has not exempted any state from this energy conservation standard. States may petition DOE to exempt a state regulation from preemption by the Federal energy conservation standard. States may also petition DOE to withdraw such exemptions. For details, see 10 CFR part 430, Subpart D.
Small Business Exemptions
Any manufacturer of a covered product with annual gross revenues that do not exceed $8,000,000 from all its operations and meets certain other conditions may apply for an exemption to the energy conservation standard. For details, see 10 CFR part 430, Subpart E.
Energy conservation standards for residential pool heaters were mandated by Part A, the “Energy Conservation Program for Consumer Products Other Than Automobiles” of Title III of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), as amended. (42 U.S.C. 6291–6309) This appliance is treated as a covered product under Part A. (42 U.S.C. 6292(a)(11))
The National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 amended EPCA to establish energy conservation standards for pool heaters as well as requirements for determining whether these standards should be amended. DOE issued a final rule updating the energy conservation standards on April 16, 2010. Manufacturers were required to comply with the updated standard beginning April 16, 2013.
On January 6, 2015, DOE published a final rule updating the test procedures for pool heaters which, among other amendments, included provisions for measuring integrated thermal efficiency of gas-fired, electric resistance, and electric heat pump pool heaters by incorporating standby-mode and off-mode energy consumption.
Helpful Links and Contact Information
Helpful Links
Find tips and guidance for making your home, workplace, or vehicle more energy efficient visit EnergySavers.gov.
For more information related to the regulation of this product, please email:
pool_heaters@ee.doe.gov
