by Brianna Crandall — April 14, 2017 — Recognizing that over 25 percent of the electricity used in the United States is used to power pumps, the Hydraulic Institute (HI) has developed the HI Energy Rating Label program to help manufacturers differentiate their higher efficiency products and provide ways for commercial and industrial customers to save energy.
The HI Energy Rating Label identifies energy-efficient pumps and provides a tool for the developers of energy efficiency programs, electric utilities, distributors, and customers to identify energy-saving products. The pumps with the higher ER rating will provide greater energy savings than similar pumps with lower ratings, says the group.
HI Energy Rating Label: pumps with the higher ER rating will provide greater energy savings than similar pumps with lower ratings.
With the HI Energy Rating Label, energy-efficiency program administrators have a new way to encourage adoption of more efficient technology. Through incentives to distributors or rebates to equipment purchasers, programs can encourage commercial and industrial facilities to install more efficient pumps.
HI initiated the development of the energy rating to take advantage of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) new clean water pump regulation. HI worked collaboratively with its members, the Northwest’s Regional Technical Forum (RTF), Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), and American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) to develop the Energy Rating (ER) Label program.
The program is expected to accelerate the adoption of more efficient pumping systems into the marketplace and contribute towards broad-based energy savings for end-users in commercial and industrial sectors, including building services.
NEEA senior product manager Geoff Wickes stated:
The Hydraulic Institute is paving the way for pump end-users to be better informed as they purchase pumps and pump systems. The Hydraulic Institute’s collaborative work with the DOE, industry groups and energy efficiency organizations to develop a verifiable test procedure, lab accreditation and a market friendly label will help users gain a competitive edge in their equipment purchases.
Through this effort, HI, along with DOE and the RTF, developed measures that provide the infrastructure to help interested utilities to create rebate programs for products with the HI ER Label. The ER Label verifies product efficiency performance through certifications, and labeled products are listed in a database to provide verifiable energy savings for upgraded equipment.
Wickes added:
NEEA commends the systems-thinking approach of the Hydraulic Institute and all the many entities in the Northwest, which resulted in efficiency levels for more than 3,400 clean water and 40 circulator pumps being verified and designated using HI’s labeling program. This presents an excellent opportunity to support efficiency efforts in the commercial, industrial and agricultural sectors.
This labeling program and platform will help many parties identify new opportunities for efficiencies. Ethan Rogers, program director at ACEEE, commended HI and the pump industry for building this initiative on top of the consensus framework, and said:
The HI ER Label will provide purchasers with new information that enables businesses to make more informed decisions on how to reduce operating costs and save energy.
To learn more about the HI Energy Rating Label program, visit the Hydraulic Institute Web site.
