ESC Residential Consortium Minutes 08112022

ESC Residential Consortium Minutes from August 11, 2022 The meeting was called to order at 2:02 pm Eastern Time, per the email sent to all members of the consortium on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. The meeting was held via conference call. Attendance: Atmos Greg Anderson Black Hills Energy Shari Maier Eversource Jeannie Maitland National Fuel Melissa Sicurella ONE Gas Brandon Rainbolt PECO Nick Mart San Diego Gas & Electric Mery Sweeney Southeast Gas Shannon Jackson Southern Co Corey Minshew Next TMAF: Our next TMAF will be held on September 28 – 30 in Minneapolis, MN; our host is CenterPoint Energy. The event will be held at the Royal Sonesta Downtown. Registration is now open! To register for this event and to view the current agenda, please follow the link below: https://www.energysolutionscenter.org/events/technology_market_assessment_forum.aspx EnergyGuide Labels: AGA, NPGA and APGA filed joint comments to the FTC requesting that the Commission include full fuel cycle (FFC) information on the EnergyGuide labels under the appliance energy labeling rule. The comments were in response to a May 25, 2022 Federal Trade Commission’s Federal Register Notice that proposed changes to the appliance labeling rule that applies to natural gas furnaces, water heaters, boilers, pool heaters and clothes dryers. DOE is performing an analysis to determine if there is a need to revise the efficiency standards for consumer water heaters. In the past, the gas industry has proposed to modify the metric for the energy efficiency rating for natural gas furnaces, water heaters, pool heaters, and boilers to be based on “source” or “full fuel cycle” calculations rather than on “site” usage as the technically correct metric for measuring total energy use which provides consumers with a more accurate basis to make appliance purchasing decisions. Case in point of this issue is illustrated with the efficiency rating for furnaces. On the EnergyGuide label for electric furnaces, the efficiency rating (AFUE’s) is displayed as 100% . However, the estimated annual operating cost, when compared with natural gas furnaces will show they cost consumers 2 ½ to 3 times more, on an annual basis, than a natural gas furnace. The purpose of the FTC appliance labeling appliance program is to assist consumers in making purchasing decisions which is clearly falling short right now. More to follow once a response is received. EPA V 5.0 Energy Star Water Heater Product Specification – Final Draft: Just to refresh your memory: a previous version from EPA would have required natural gas storage water heaters to have a Uniform Energy Factor (UEF) greater than 1 which would have required heat pump technology to achieve an Energy Star rating. The June 1st Final Draft set a revised UEF level at .86 that would require condensing technology for gas storage water heaters to qualify for Energy Star recognition. AGA filed comments requesting that EPA establish 2 tiers of Energy Star requirements, the first tier would have a UEF rating from .68 – 1.0 and the second tier would be for units with a UEF of 1 or more. The final version was released and states a UEF level at .86 will be required to achieve Energy Star recognition resulting in condensing technology only. The new ENERGY STAR Water Heater Product Specification goes into effect on April 18, 2023. Open Discussion: Barb asked if any member companies have seen a decrease in housing activity due to the recent climb in interest rates. Greg Anderson, Atmos Energy, said there has been a noticeable change in activity. While homes are still being built, builders are having to kick in some concessions in order to get the home sold. Greg commented that there has also been an effect on the existing home market. Now you can see “For Sale” signs on people’s lawns. Previously, you never knew a home sold until you saw the moving van, the sale and closing happened so quickly. Homes are now on the market for more than a few days. Barb commented that several homes that were for sale in her area actually had to lower their price! With no further topics raised, the meeting was adjourned at 2:17 PM.