ChrWright
July 8th, 2010, 03:38 PM
I'm sure it's been brought up in another thread, but here are some links to this controversial action by the DOE:
http://www.kitchenbathdesign.com/print/Kitchen-and-Bath-Design-News/A-Guideline-That-Should-be-Trashed/2$5591
The federal government, which has been accused – rightly or wrongly – of overzealous, ill-conceived attempts at overregulation, needs to take a step back and rethink a proposed new guideline that could deal an unwarranted, and crippling, blow to companies serving the kitchen and bath trade.
The proposed new guideline, set for rollout by the Dept. of Energy, is based on the DOE’s belief that the Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975 gives the agency the authority to redefine the term “showerhead” and, in so doing, limit the output of all spray devices in a shower to a combined 2.5 gallons per minute.
In other words, if the proposed new guideline becomes a binding regulatory requirement, the DOE – in a misguided effort to enforce the notion of water conservation – would mandate a radical change in the way bath and shower configurations are designed in America. The number of fixtures in a shower or bathtub area would be limited to one. Multi-function showers would be no longer be permitted. Configurations commonly found in most bathtub settings – such as a tub spout, hand shower and showerhead – would be in violation of federal law, since the combined water usage in those applications would exceed the 2.5 gpm maximum.
http://www.realestaterama.com/2010/06/25/doe-showerhead-rule-limits-choices-for-elderly-and-disabled-says-nahb-ID07384.html
WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) — The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has asked the federal Department of Energy (DOE) to rethink a new “interpretive rule” that changes the regulatory definition of a showerhead and that could prohibit from sale many hand-held devices that improve the shower’s accessibility for the elderly or disabled.
Under DOE’s new interpretation, the Environmental Protection Agency’s allowable gallons-per-minute flow rate would apply to the entire showerhead plumbing device — everything past the mixing valves or user controls. Such an interpretation would be a significant shift for most showerhead manufacturers, which now apply those rates to each individual showerhead.
“DOE said the change is intended to improve water efficiency, which is a goal we support. Unfortunately, the solution goes too far,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a builder and developer in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
“This is going to make it much more difficult for older Americans to live independently. Under the new definition, replacing a traditional, single showerhead with one that includes a flexible hose to take a shower while seated will result in half the water pressure for each – which would be too weak for either one,” Jones said.
The rule also potentially bans the installation of spa-style showers and similar features popular with many new home buyers – limiting consumer choice, but not necessarily saving water. “The government would have to come up with a ruling regarding the number of showers people are allowed to take and how many minutes they can last – and I don’t think any agency is prepared to go that far, for good reason,” Jones added.
http://contractormag.com/news/doe-bans-multi-showerheads-2345/
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy probably didn’t know what it was getting itself into when it announced an interpretive rule in early June that would effectively ban multi-head shower systems.
Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors – National Association has called on its members to strongly protest a DOE proposal that would ban multiple head showers. DOE proposes to interpret the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended, to mean that a showerhead is anything past the mixing valve. That would mean that all fittings could not spray more than 2.5 GPM combined.
“Without advance notice to stakeholders, the United States Department of Energy has issued an interpretive rule defining showerheads which will have an impact on the installation of higher-end bathrooms such as spas and showers that have both a showerhead and hand shower or shower towers,” PHCC-NA said in its alert.
DOE interprets that a showerhead is all components that are supplied standard together and function from one inlet (i.e., after the mixing valve) forming a single showerhead for purposes of the maximum water use standards.
Using this rule, DOE will find a showerhead to be noncompliant with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act’s maximum water use standard if the showerhead’s standard components, operating in their maximum design flow configuration, taken together use in excess of 2.5 GPM when flowing at 80-psi, even if each component individually does not exceed 2.5 GPM.
The proposal also drew a strongly worded response from the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute.
http://www.kitchenbathdesign.com/print/Kitchen-and-Bath-Design-News/A-Guideline-That-Should-be-Trashed/2$5591
The federal government, which has been accused – rightly or wrongly – of overzealous, ill-conceived attempts at overregulation, needs to take a step back and rethink a proposed new guideline that could deal an unwarranted, and crippling, blow to companies serving the kitchen and bath trade.
The proposed new guideline, set for rollout by the Dept. of Energy, is based on the DOE’s belief that the Energy Policy Conservation Act of 1975 gives the agency the authority to redefine the term “showerhead” and, in so doing, limit the output of all spray devices in a shower to a combined 2.5 gallons per minute.
In other words, if the proposed new guideline becomes a binding regulatory requirement, the DOE – in a misguided effort to enforce the notion of water conservation – would mandate a radical change in the way bath and shower configurations are designed in America. The number of fixtures in a shower or bathtub area would be limited to one. Multi-function showers would be no longer be permitted. Configurations commonly found in most bathtub settings – such as a tub spout, hand shower and showerhead – would be in violation of federal law, since the combined water usage in those applications would exceed the 2.5 gpm maximum.
http://www.realestaterama.com/2010/06/25/doe-showerhead-rule-limits-choices-for-elderly-and-disabled-says-nahb-ID07384.html
WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) — The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has asked the federal Department of Energy (DOE) to rethink a new “interpretive rule” that changes the regulatory definition of a showerhead and that could prohibit from sale many hand-held devices that improve the shower’s accessibility for the elderly or disabled.
Under DOE’s new interpretation, the Environmental Protection Agency’s allowable gallons-per-minute flow rate would apply to the entire showerhead plumbing device — everything past the mixing valves or user controls. Such an interpretation would be a significant shift for most showerhead manufacturers, which now apply those rates to each individual showerhead.
“DOE said the change is intended to improve water efficiency, which is a goal we support. Unfortunately, the solution goes too far,” said NAHB Chairman Bob Jones, a builder and developer in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
“This is going to make it much more difficult for older Americans to live independently. Under the new definition, replacing a traditional, single showerhead with one that includes a flexible hose to take a shower while seated will result in half the water pressure for each – which would be too weak for either one,” Jones said.
The rule also potentially bans the installation of spa-style showers and similar features popular with many new home buyers – limiting consumer choice, but not necessarily saving water. “The government would have to come up with a ruling regarding the number of showers people are allowed to take and how many minutes they can last – and I don’t think any agency is prepared to go that far, for good reason,” Jones added.
http://contractormag.com/news/doe-bans-multi-showerheads-2345/
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Energy probably didn’t know what it was getting itself into when it announced an interpretive rule in early June that would effectively ban multi-head shower systems.
Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors – National Association has called on its members to strongly protest a DOE proposal that would ban multiple head showers. DOE proposes to interpret the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, as amended, to mean that a showerhead is anything past the mixing valve. That would mean that all fittings could not spray more than 2.5 GPM combined.
“Without advance notice to stakeholders, the United States Department of Energy has issued an interpretive rule defining showerheads which will have an impact on the installation of higher-end bathrooms such as spas and showers that have both a showerhead and hand shower or shower towers,” PHCC-NA said in its alert.
DOE interprets that a showerhead is all components that are supplied standard together and function from one inlet (i.e., after the mixing valve) forming a single showerhead for purposes of the maximum water use standards.
Using this rule, DOE will find a showerhead to be noncompliant with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act’s maximum water use standard if the showerhead’s standard components, operating in their maximum design flow configuration, taken together use in excess of 2.5 GPM when flowing at 80-psi, even if each component individually does not exceed 2.5 GPM.
The proposal also drew a strongly worded response from the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute.