The Environmental
Protection Agency recently announced new requirements for residential
geothermal heat pumps, which enables water-to-water GHPs to earn the Energy
Star label for the first time.
The Air-Conditioning,
Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) commended the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for the agency's recent announcement, which enables
water-to-water
residential geothermal heat pumps
(GHPs) to earn the Energy Star label for the first time.
The stringent
specifications for this new category of geothermal heat pumps, which were
requested by AHRI's Applied Packaged Equipment Section, will help protect the
environment and reduce energy costs - up to 45 percent more efficient than
conventional models.
The EPA
worked with industry stakeholders to revise the requirements in response to
growing consumer demand for water-to-water geothermal heat pumps - demand
partly brought on by the significant federal tax credits that are available for
the products. "We are grateful to EPA staff for their willingness to
work with AHRI to add this new GHP category to the Energy Star program,"
said
Karim Amrane, AHRI's vice president for Regulatory and
Research.
The new requirements for
water-to-water equipment complements existing efficiency and performance
requirements for water-to-air and direct geoexchange GHP models. Homeowners who
install geothermal heat pumps with the Energy Star are eligible for a
30 percent federal tax credit.
Source: AHRILinks
