Pool pumps may face national regulation as new proposals considered

Rick Miles, the acting national Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards Act 2012 (GEMS) regulator and the chair of the E3 program committee, has contacted SPLASH! to help inform the industry on the upcoming considerations for national regulation of pool pumps, and the status of the E3 program. Below is an article he has put together for the industry's information.

The Equipment Energy Efficiency (E3) Program is considering the costs and benefits of introducing mandatory Minimum Energy Efficiency Performance Standards (MEPS) for residential pool pumps. The committee is also considering moving from the current Voluntary Energy Rating Label to a mandatory label.

In households with a swimming pool or spa, the pump often uses more electricity than any other appliance in the house. For this reason, the E3 Program has identified swimming pool pumps as an area where there may be scope for big improvements in household energy efficiency.

Public consultations

The E3 Committee is planning to release a consultation Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) on possible approaches for regulation and labelling of pool pumps around the middle of this year. Industry and other interested stakeholders will have three months to consider the options set out in the RIS, participate in face to face meetings and public discussions on the proposals and make a submission to the E3 Committee.

What is being proposed?

The consultation RIS will detail possible regulatory options and provide evidence for and against specific proposals, including the results of a detailed cost benefit analysis and an analysis of the economic effects of the regulatory proposals. In summary, the consultation RIS will:

• Detail the specific regulation options being considered, encompassing

o no change to the current arrangements;

o regulation requiring mandatory energy efficiency labelling for pool pumps;

o regulation requiring mandatory MEPS for pool pumps; and

o regulation requiring both mandatory labelling and mandatory MEPS for pool pumps.

• Provide details on the scope of any new regulation options, such as the type of pumps or equipment that could be covered by any new regulations.

• Outline possible transitional arrangements from the current voluntary energy labelling scheme to a mandatory approach.

How you can help?

Preparing the consultation RIS requires a lot of data. The E3 Program is commissioning testing of the energy efficiency and noise produced by pool pumps on the market and we may be contacting companies and industry associations about getting up-to-date data on the market for pool pumps.

Building on success

The industry has been working with the E3 Program over the years to promote energy efficiency improvements in pool pumps, including helping with the development of national energy test methods and establishing the voluntary energy rating labelling scheme, which has 65 registered models.

Find out more

If you would like to know more, you can email the E3 Program at energyrating@industry.gov.au with “Swimming Pool Pumps” in the subject line or you can ring the project leader for pool pumps, Mr Peter McLoughlin, on (02) 6243 7957.

To stay informed about the development of the consultation RIS and other work on energy efficiency, you can also subscribe to the E3 Program’s newsletter, The Efficiency Standard.