WATER INDUSTRY ACT South Australian Water Heater Installation Requirements. Prepared by the Technical Regulator

Transcription

1 WATER INDUSTRY ACT 2012 South Australian Water Heater Installation Requirements Prepared by the Technical Regulator Installation requirements for water heaters serving established Class 1A buildings, established Class 1B buildings or single dwellings in established Class 2 Buildings in South Australia. WATER HEATER INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS A person who designs, installs, replaces, repairs, maintains, removes, disconnects or decommissions a water heater must comply with the following Requirements.

2 Intent and Scope 1.1 Intent of the Requirements: To achieve energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions by encouraging installation of low-emission, high-efficiency water heaters, and; To achieve water efficiency and further energy and greenhouse gas reductions by requiring all shower outlets connected to the installed water heater to meet the required water flow rate performance. 1.2 Scope of application: These Requirements apply only to water heater installations, including replacement installations, that serve an established Class 1A building, an established Class 1B building, or a single dwelling in an established Class 2 building. These classes are defined in the National Construction Code (NCC) as varied from time to time, as shown below: Explanatory Note 1: National Construction Code Definitions (2013) Classes Definitions Examples 1A 1B 2 3 to 9 10 A single dwelling being a detached house or one of a group of two or more attached dwellings, separated by a fire resisting wall, including a row house, terrace house, town house or villa unit, which is not located above or below another dwelling or another class of building other than a private garage. Boarding / guest house or hostel or the like not exceeding 300m 2 in which not more than 12 people reside, or 4 or more single dwellings located on one allotment and used for short term holiday accommodation, which is not located above or below another dwelling or another class of building other than a private garage. A building containing 2 or more sole occupancy units each being a separate dwelling. Detached and semidetached houses, row houses, townhouses, maisonettes, single storey units and flats. Small hostels, cabins in caravan parks, farm stay, holiday resorts or similar. Apartments and flats where one dwelling is above another. A wide range of commercial, public and industrial buildings, and some special residential buildings, including: Class 3: Hotels, backpacker accommodation, large hostels and boarding schools Class 4: Manager s flat in a commercial building. Class 9c: Nursing homes. A non habitable building or structure. 10A - A private garage, carport, shed or the like. 10B - A structure being a fence, mast, antenna, retaining or free standing wall, swimming pool or the like. Sheds, garages, carports, swimming pools. Within the scope of these Requirements NO NO

3 Exclusions from application of the Requirements: These Requirements do not apply to water heaters installed as part of construction works [new dwellings, alterations or additions] approved or requiring approval under the Development Act Explanatory Note 2: Water Heaters Installed in New or Renovated Dwellings Water heaters installed as part of construction works approved or requiring approval under the Development Act 1993 are required to meet greenhouse gas performance standards. For details of the requirements for new homes refer to the National Construction Code 2013 Volume Two, until such time as National Construction Code 2014 Volume Three Plumbing Code of Australia, is published in mid 2014, at which time the requirements for new homes will be contained within Volume These Requirements do not apply to water heater installations serving multiple dwellings in a Class 2 building or to water heaters serving buildings other than Class 1A, Class 1B or Class 2 buildings These Requirements do not apply to repairs to water heaters. Repairs include: i. Like for like replacements that are the result of manufacturer, supplier or installer warranty arrangements. ii. Replacement of a single major component of a solar or electric heat pump water heater (for example, a heat pump compressor/evaporator unit, a solar collector, or a storage tank) These Requirements do not apply to the following types of water heaters: i. Secondary electric water heaters of up to 55 litres rated delivery, which do not serve a shower or bath. ii. Temporary electric water heaters of up to 55 litres rated delivery, for a period not exceeding 60 days, pending installation of a complying water heater. iii. An electric or gas vented (gravity fed) water heater, located in a roof void, of no greater than 250 litres rated hot water delivery. 2. Compliance 2.1 A person who installs a water heater, including a new or replacement installation, which is within the scope of these Requirements (as set out in Section 1) must: (i) Ensure that, when the water heater is installed, all shower outlets connected to the heated water service (that the water heater supplies) meet the Water Flow Rate Performance Requirements, as set out in Section 3, and: (ii) Ensure that the water heater installed; a) for a system servicing a Class 1A or Class 1B dwelling on a property that is connected to a reticulated gas supply, is a Low-Emission water heater complying with the requirements set out in Section 4, or b) for a system servicing a Class 1A or Class 1B dwelling on a property that is not connected to a reticulated gas supply, is one of the following types of water heater (only); i. a Low-Emission water heater complying with the requirements set out in Section 4, or ii. an electric water heater with a rated hot water delivery of no greater than 250 litres, or iii. an electric instantaneous water heater, having a water storage capacity no greater than one litre and total electrical input no greater than 15.0 kw, or

4 - 4 - c) for a system servicing a Class 2 dwelling, is any type of water heater that may otherwise be installed. Explanatory Note 3: Connection to a reticulated gas supply A property is connected to a reticulated gas supply if it has a piped connection to a gas distribution system and this connection is capable of supplying gas to gas equipment and/or appliances. A property is not connected to a reticulated gas supply if: It does not have a piped connection to a gas distribution system; or It has a piped connection to a gas distribution system but this connection is not capable of supplying gas to gas equipment and/or appliances (for example, if the supply has been physically disconnected at the meter by the gas network operator). Reticulated gas includes: Reticulated natural gas; or Reticulated compressed gas of some other type (including LPG, SNG or TLP gas). 2.2 Exemptions Under Exceptional Circumstances. Specific exemptions to the requirements in Section 2.1 may be granted by the Technical Regulator, on a case by case basis, where extraordinary technical difficulties can be demonstrated. 3. Water Flow Rate Performance Requirements 3.1 All shower outlets supplied by a water heater installed under these Requirements shall deliver a maximum flow rate of 9 litres per minute. A water heater installation complies with this requirement if; (i) the shower outlet uses a WaterMarked flow restrictor having a WELS Rating of not less than three stars, or (ii) the shower outlet uses a WaterMarked shower head having a WELS Rating of not less than three stars, or (iii) the water heater that is installed is a vented (gravity fed) water heater. Explanatory Note 4: Flow Rate Performance Water star ratings are provided for shower heads and flow restrictors. A database of water star ratings for shower heads and flow restrictors may be found at: A vented water heater, also known as a gravity-fed water heater, is defined in AS 4692 Part Low-Emission Water Heaters 4.1 A Low-Emission water heater (as referred to in Section 2.1) installed under these Requirements, must be one of the following types: A natural gas or LPG water heater, either instantaneous, continuous flow or storage, that has an energy rating of; i. 5 stars or more, or ii. for a water heater installed entirely within a fully enclosed roof space, room or garage attached to the dwelling, 3 stars or more An electric boosted solar water heater or electric heat pump water heater (air source or solar boosted), with a single tank, that; i. for systems with a tank volume of 400 litres or more and 700 litres or less, is eligible for at least 38 Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs) in Zone 3 as

5 - 5 - ii. iii. defined by the Clean Energy Regulator [CER] and / or eligible for at least 36 STCs in CER Zone 4, or for systems with a tank volume of more than 220 litres and less than 400 litres, is eligible for at least 27 STCs in CER Zone 3 and / or eligible for at least 26 STCs in CER Zone 4, or for systems with a tank volume of 220 litres or less, is eligible for at least 17 STCs in CER Zone 3 and / or eligible for at least 16 STCs in CER Zone A natural gas or LPG boosted solar water heater, with a total tank volume of 700 litres or less, that is eligible for any number (one or more) of STCs A wood combustion water heater, with no additional heating mechanisms, with a total tank volume of 700 litres or less A wood combustion boosted solar water heater, with no additional heating mechanisms, with a total tank volume of 700 litres or less. Explanatory Note 5: Gas, Solar and Electric Heat Pump Systems Gas Water Heaters The energy ratings for natural gas and LPG water heaters are available at: Solar Water Heaters and Electric Heat Pump Water Heaters STCs are Small-scale Technology Certificates. References to Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) refer equally to STCs. The number of STCs is provided for each eligible model of solar water heater and electric heat pump water heater at: Heaters/eligible-swhs The STC values specified in Section 4 for either CER Zones 3 or 4 may be used to demonstrate compliance, regardless of the actual zone in which the water heater is to be installed. Dated this day of January 2014 APPROVED by the Technical Regulator