Natural-gas furnaces, by far the most popular way to warm U.S. homes, should be a solid target for new energy-efficiency standards to lower heating bills.
But a 10-year federal effort to raise the minimum standard for gas furnaces, which hasn’t changed in decades, has so far missed its target.
Missteps, disagreements and a lawsuit have derailed the effort. It now looks as if it will take several more years to implement a new standard.
“It’s a shame,” said Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, which supports the tougher standard. “This is going to end up taking 20 years, and that is ridiculous.”
Energy efficiency is determined by how much energy stored in a fuel is used.Under the current standard for natural-gas furnaces, the appliances must turn into heat at least 78 percent of the energy in each unit of natural gas.
The proposed standard would raise that to 90 percent for new furnaces installed in Northern states. The standard for Southern states would remain essentially unchanged at 80 percent.
In an average residence, a furnace that is 90 percent or more efficient costs an extra $600 to $800, with installation. But it can save $50 to $100 or more a year in fuel costs.
But critics of the proposed standard say the more-efficient furnaces need different venting from older gas furnaces, and in some installations, the cost could outweigh the economic benefit.
Critics, which include some gas utilities and furnace installers or distributors, say another problem is the different efficiency standards for warmer and cooler climates which would be difficult to enforce.
The U.S. Department of Energy earlier this year ditched the proposed standard, saying it would start from scratch and do more studies. Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed by an opponent of the standard is still in the courts.
Things became even more muddled when an association of air-conditioning distributors intervened in the lawsuit, trying to stop some new efficiency standards for air conditioners set to go into effect in 2015.
The federal agency has declined to comment because of the lawsuit.
The messy dispute is a setback for the federal government, which under President Barack Obama has made energy efficiency a priority.
Efficiency standards have already been increased for a range of appliances, from refrigerators to dishwashers. The minimum efficiency standards for central air conditioners and heat pumps have jumped about 30 percent in the past several years and are supposed to go up some more.
In July, the Energy Department boasted of new requirements for microwave ovens that slash the amount of energy they use in standby mode by 75 percent.
Gas furnaces are a tempting target because, according to the Energy Information Administration, about 40 percent of the energy delivered to a residence over a year is for heating, and more than half of that is used in gas furnaces.
Their minimum efficiency was last raised by the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act in 1987, which set it at 78 percent.
Most furnaces sold now are at least 80 percent efficient. Ninety percent to 98 percent efficient models are available and accounted for a third of all gas furnaces sold nationally in 2012.
Efforts to boost the minimum began in 2002. Five years later, the Department of Energy proposed raising the minimum to 80 percent, but energy-efficiency groups sued the agency, saying the new standard was such a slight improvement it would have little effect.
Then in 2009, an advisory group to the Department of Energy that included furnace manufacturers and energy-efficiency groups drew up another standard: New furnaces in the Northern part of the U.S. would be at least 90 percent efficient, while in the rest of the country they could be 80 percent efficient.
The idea behind the regional standards was that the 90 percent furnaces would more than recover their costs in colder areas because they would save more energy.
The Department of Energy endorsed the agreement and issued the proposed standard in 2011, to go into effect this year. But it quickly ran into trouble.
Questions and complaints ricocheted. The opposition included two major associations representing gas utilities, which said the cost could cause some consumers to go to electric heat. Energy-efficiency experts said that was unlikely.
Jim Hearing, director of sales and customer accounts for Missouri Gas Energy, said the utility’s profits don’t depend on customers using more gas. Its rates, which cover overhead expenses and profits, are based on a fixed monthly charge, while the wholesale price it pays for gas is passed along to the customer.
The utility offers rebates to customers who buy more-efficient furnaces, and about half of furnaces sold in the Kansas City region are 90 percent or more efficient. But the decision to buy a more-efficient furnace should remain voluntary, Hearing said.
More-efficient furnaces create a problem when it comes to getting rid of exhaust gas. In a more-efficient furnace, the exhaust is cooler and contains more moisture. That damages traditional vertical venting through the roof of a house.
A more-efficient furnace avoids that by sending exhaust through a plastic pipe to the outside of a house.
The American Gas Association and American Public Gas Association, which represent investor- and city-owned gas utilities, said the extra work could be an unreasonable financial burden for some consumers.
Venting for more-efficient furnaces can add a few hundred dollars to the cost. But the American Public Gas Association said that in some installations, venting could cost $1,500 to $2,200.
Talks among the parties ensued to find a compromise. A change was made so when the cost of installation rises too high, a consumer could get a waiver to avoid having to buy a more-efficient furnace.
There were signs that the American Gas Association, whose members are divided on raising the efficiency standard, was softening its opposition.
However, the American Public Gas Association did file a lawsuit, calling the waiver unworkable. The lawsuit was the last straw for the Energy Department, which in a settlement earlier this year announced it would drop the proposed standard and start over.
Business, Pages 21 on 12/30/2013