Abstract
The Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Water Heaters require residential electric storage water heaters with volumes larger than 55 gallons to have an energy factor greater than 2.0 after April 2015. While this standard will significantly increase the energy efficiency of water heaters, large electric storage water heaters that do not use heat pump technologies may no longer be available. Since utilities utilize conventional large-volume electric storage water heaters for thermal storage in demand response programs, there is a concern that the amended standard will significantly limit demand response capacity. To this end, Oak Ridge National Laboratory partnered with the Tennessee Valley Authority to investigate the load management capability of heat pump water heaters that meet or exceed the forthcoming water heater standard. Energy consumption reduction during peak periods was successfully demonstrated, while still meeting other performance criteria. However, to minimize energy consumption, it is important to design load management strategies that consider the home’s hourly hot water demand so that the homeowner has sufficient hot water.
