Proposed Energy Efficiency Regulations

On April 30, the Government of Canada proposed Energy Efficiency Regulations that would (a) increase the stringency of minimum energy performance standards for 20 currently regulated product categories; (b) make minor changes to standards or reporting requirements for 8 currently regulated product categories; and (c) repeal and replace the Regulations to remove references to obsolete and out-of-date standards and to improve the organization of the regulatory text, making it easier for stakeholders to find and understand the requirements that apply to them.

GHG emissions are reduced to contribute to Canada’s goal to reduce GHG emissions by at least 30% below 2005 levels by 2030;
Consumers and businesses save money by not purchasing low-efficiency product models that have higher costs over their lifetime; and
Compliance costs associated with unnecessary regulatory differences are removed.

Gas-fired storage water heaters - Residential gas-fired storage water heaters provide domestic hot water for use in cooking, cleaning and bathing, using natural gas or propane as the fuel source. For products manufactured on or after April 16, 2017, the proposed Regulations would align average and large volume water heaters with the U.S. minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for average volume tanks that have been in effect since 2015. The United States has implemented more stringent MEPS for large volume tanks that would not apply in Canada.
Gas fireplaces - The current Regulations require that, for each gas fireplace imported into Canada or shipped between provinces, regulatees provide information on whether the ignition for the product model is achieved by a standing pilot or an intermittent ignition device. With only those options, two new types of ignition systems — on-demand pilot and remotely operated pilot — exist on the market but cannot be reported. Further, these new ignition systems are not specifically covered by the testing standard referenced by the Regulations (CSA P.4.1-02, Testing Method for Measuring Annual Fireplace Efficiency). In response to industry concerns related to these issues, the proposed Regulations would reference the most recent version of the CSA standard CAN/CSA P.4.1-15 and allow for testing and reporting of product models that include these two new types of ignition systems.