Economics of Condensing Gas Furnaces and Water Heaters Potential in Residential Single Family Homes

摘要

Residential space and water heating accounts for over 90% of total residential primaryrngas consumption in the United States. Condensing space and water heating equipment are 10-rn30% more energy-efficient than conventional space and water heating. Currently, condensing gasrnfurnaces represent 40 percent of shipments and are common in the Northern U.S. market.rnMeanwhile, manufacturers are planning to develop condensing gas storage water heaters tornqualify for Energy Star~? certification. Consumers, installers, and builders who make decisionsrnabout installing space and water heating equipment generally do not perform an analysis tornassess the economic impacts of different combinations and efficiencies of space and waterrnheating equipment. Thus, equipment is often installed without taking into consideration thernpotential life-cycle economic and energy savings of installing space and water heating equipmentrncombinations. Drawing on previous and current analysis conducted for the United StatesrnDepartment of Energy rulemaking on amended standards for furnaces and water heaters, thisrnpaper evaluates the extent to which condensing equipment can provide life-cycle costeffectivenessrnin a representative sample of single family American homes. The economicrnanalyses indicate that significant energy savings and consumer benefits may result from largescalernintroduction of condensing water heaters combined with condensing furnaces in U.S.rnResidential single-family housing, particularly in the Northern region. The analyses also showsrnthat important benefits may be overlooked when policy analysts evaluate the impact of space andrnwater heating equipment separately.