On 30 November 2016, the working group, which included members of the Hydraulic Institute, Armstrong Fluid Technology, Grundfos, Taco Inc., WILO USA and Xylem Applied Water Systems reached a consensus on a term sheet recommending to the ASRAC and the Secretary of Energy, terms for the development of a test procedure and energy conservation standard levels for circulator pumps.
The committee work and negotiations took more than 10 months and 20 face-to-face meetings. The working group believes that the time and effort was worth it as the resulting standard level will transform the circulator pump market from induction motors to more efficient electrically commutated motors and save more than 0.7 Quads of energy.
The working group recommended that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) make every effort to issue a final rule by the end of 2017 and a four-year implementation period from the date of publication of the final rule. Following this timeline the industry could expect a compliance date around January of 2022.