Proposal to amend energy performance standards

The proposed amendments, if approved, would set or update test methods, scope and/or efficiency requirements for 10 products in the manner outlined below:

1. Set test method, scope and/or efficiency requirements for one new product, commercial oil-fired storage water heaters, to harmonize with the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and NRCan requirements for this product.
    
   • Commercial oil-fired storage water heaters (water heater, oil-fired, tank-type, with an input rating of more than 30.5 kW (105,000 Btu/h)): Set and harmonize scope, test method and efficiency requirements with NRCan’s requirements for this product that will come into force on January 1, 2020 under SOR/2019-164 and with the DOE requirements currently in effect. The update would include creating two separate product categories to align with NRCan’s and DOE’s approach to distinguish “residential duty” commercial water heaters from other commercial water heaters. Ontario’s proposed compliance date would be July 1, 2020.
      
2. Update scope, test method, and/or efficiency requirements for nine existing products to harmonize with NRCan or OBC: commercial gas-fired storage water heaters, residential gas-fired instantaneous water heaters, commercial gas-fired instantaneous water heaters, residential gas-fired furnaces, residential gas-fired boilers, commercial gas-fired boilers, commercial oil-fired boilers, gas fireplaces and residential windows.
    
   • Commercial gas fired storage water heaters (water heater, gas-fired, tank-type, with an input rating of more than 22 kW (75,000 Btu/h)): Update and harmonize test method and efficiency requirements with NRCan’s requirements for this product that will come into force on July 1, 2023 under SOR/2019-164. The update would include separating this product into two categories, with different test methods and efficiency requirements, to align with NRCan’s and DOE’s approach distinguishing “residential duty” commercial water heaters from other commercial water heaters. Ontario’s proposed compliance date would be July 1, 2023, aligned with NRCan
      
   • Residential gas-fired instantaneous water heaters (water heater, gas-fired, instantaneous, with an input rating of less than 73 kW (250,000 Btu/h)): Update and harmonize scope, test method and efficiency requirements with NRCan’s requirements for this product that will come into force on January 1, 2020 under SOR/2019-164. The update would include fully aligning the input rating range for this product category with NRCan and DOE. Ontario’s proposed compliance date would be July 1, 2020.
      
   • Commercial gas-fired instantaneous water heaters (water heater, gas-fired, instantaneous, with an input rating of 73 kW (250,000 Btu/h) or more): Update and harmonize scope, test method and efficiency requirements with NRCan’s requirements for this product that will come into force on July 1, 2023 under SOR/2019-164. The update would include fully aligning test methods and the input rating range with NRCan and DOE requirements for this product. Ontario’s proposed compliance date is July 1, 2023, aligned with NRCan. Ontario’s proposed compliance date for updates to the scope (to align inputs in kW for this product with NRCan and DOE) would be July 1, 2020.
      
   • Residential gas-fired furnaces (furnace, gas-fired, with an input of less than 65.92 kW (225,000 Btu/h)): Update and harmonize efficiency requirements NRCan’s requirements for this product that will come into force on December 12, 2019 and January 1, 2024 (for through-the-wall furnace fan efficiency (FER) requirements) under SOR/2019-164. Ontario’s proposed compliance dates would be July 1, 2020 and January 1, 2024 (for through-the-wall furnace fan requirements).
      
   • Residential gas-fired boilers (boiler, gas-fired, with an input of less than 88 kW (300,000 Btu/h)): Update and harmonize efficiency requirements with NRCan’s requirements for this product that will come into force on July 1, 2023 under SOR/2019-164. Ontario’s proposed compliance date would be July 1, 2023, aligned with NRCan.
      
   • Commercial gas-fired boilers (boiler, gas-fired, with an input of at least 88 kW (300,000 Btu/h)): Update and harmonize scope, test method and efficiency requirements for two product categories in O.Reg. 509/18 (gas boilers with an input of at least 88 kW but less than 732 kW, and gas boilers with an input of at least 732 kW) with NRCan’s requirements for this product that will come into force on January 1, 2025 under SOR/2019-164. Ontario’s proposed compliance date would be January 1, 2025, aligned with NRCan.
      
   • Commercial oil-fired boilers (boiler, oil-fired, with an input of more than 88 kW (300,000 Btu/h)): Update and harmonize scope, test method and efficiency requirements for two product categories in O.Reg. 509/18 (oil boilers with an input of more than 88 kW but not more than 732 kW, and oil boilers with an input greater than 732 kW) with NRCan’s requirements for this product that will come into force on January 1, 2025 under SOR/2019-164. Ontario’s proposed compliance date would be January 1, 2025, aligned with NRCan.
      
   • Gas fireplaces (fireplace, gas, vented (including fireplace heaters and fireplace inserts)): Update and harmonize efficiency requirements for vented fireplace heaters with NRCan’s requirements for this product that will come into force on January 1, 2020 under SOR/2019-164. Ontario’s proposed compliance date is January 1, 2021.
      
   • Residential windows (window, intended for low-rise residential building): Update efficiency requirements for windows in small residential buildings to a maximum U-factor of 1.6 or a minimum energy factor of 25 to align with Ontario Building Code minimum standards and proposed updates to British Columbia’s efficiency regulation. Ontario’s proposed compliance date is January 1, 2022.
      
3. Make changes to the regulation of a housekeeping nature. These changes could clarify the scope and/or requirements for some products, or update references to include the most relevant or most recent editions of test standards for products with no changes to the existing efficiency requirements. Editorial updates would also include changes to input ratings for residential oil-fired boilers: the input rate for this product will be changed from “not more than 88 kW” to “less than 88 kW” as of January 1, 2025 to align with proposed updates to commercial oil boilers.

Environmental Impact

The proposed changes would result in increasing the MEPS for each of these products, thereby reducing energy use and GHG emissions in the province.

Based on NRCan’s analysis of the changes that Ontario is proposing to harmonize with, the national environmental impact would be a reduction of 14.9 megatons of GHG emissions and 304 petajoules of energy savings cumulative to 2040. Scaled to Ontario’s population, this would amount to approximately 5.7 megatons of GHG emissions and 116 petajoules of energy savings.

Additional savings could also be expected from changes to standards for residential windows (not included in the above figure). British Columbia estimates that a comparable change to its windows standards will generate 240 terajoules in energy savings and 12,400 tons of GHG emissions reductions annually by 2030 in that market.

Summary

Based on analysis by NRCan, Ontario’s proposed changes to harmonize with NRCan would save Ontario consumers money on energy costs, reduce GHG emissions, and reduce red tape for manufacturers. NRCan’s analysis found a net savings of $2.7 billion nationally (cumulative to 2040) in energy costs and avoided GHG damages from these changes. Additional savings are expected from changes to standards for residential windows (not included in the above figure): British Columbia estimates that a comparable change to its windows standards will generate $40 million in savings annually by 2030 in that market. The Ministry is conducting a survey of windows manufacturers in the province to help inform the cost-benefit analysis in Ontario and invites further comment on the anticipated impact of the proposed change to windows standards.

There will be no cost additional impact as a result of Ontario’s proposed amendment for products regulated by NRCan.  These products will have to comply with NRCan’s standards and Ontario is proposing the same standards as NRCan.

The proposed amendments would reduce red tape by harmonizing with NRCan and DOE, supporting a more integrated North American market, and support commitments made in the draft Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan to improve natural gas efficiency, reduce GHG emissions, and ensure Ontario’s energy-efficiency standards for appliances and equipment continue to be among the highest in North America.

Purpose

This proposal would support further harmonization of Ontario’s efficiency standards with NRCan and bring residential windows standards up to minimum levels required by the Ontario Building Code. Harmonization of Ontario’s standards with NRCan reduces red tape for manufacturers and helps ensure that Ontarians have access to a wide range of efficient products.

The proposed amendment would also support reducing the environmental impact of energy use and encouraging energy conservation by increasing the efficiency of regulated products sold or leased in Ontario, thus reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and the release of pollutants to the environment.