New federal regulations to affect water heater purchases

LAKE CHARLES, LA (KPLC) -

On April 16, the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) will have new standards when it comes to how efficient water heaters are, so if you're planning on getting a new one, you may want to make room at home and in your pockets.

"To the consumer on energy saver, this will increase," said Stine assistant manager Travis Hoffpauir. "Your yearly operating cost will increase over a year's time."

Aside from saving you some money and energy, the new water heaters are going to be bigger. They're going to be 2 to 8 inches taller and 2 to 6 inches wider, depending on the model. So, fitting it in your house cocoulde an issue.

"It depends on the spaces," said a local homeowner as he shopped. "Some people have them underneath cabinets and some people don't."

Hoffpauir said those people who have their tanks in a tight closet with very little room may see most of the change. According to WashingtonEnergy.com, the changes will require custom install solutions to fit some homes and apartments, which may cost homeowners more money.

They also anticipate retail price increases in the range of $100.

If you have a large size tank (66 or 80 gallon) or 75 gallon gas water heater, some of these are being discontinued.

But there is some good news, the change will eventually save consumers money on their utility bills, but Hoffpauir said that may take awhile to happen.

"It's hard to tell if they'll even see the savings," he said. "They projected it over a whole year's time so, you're not going to see a great saving immediately on your electric bill."

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New federal regulations to affect water heater purchases