Hello,
There have been more questions than I can answer about the new clothes
washer inputs in REM/Rate. The question is - why does the clothes
washer kWh/yr increase when I lower the LER (kWh/yr). The answer is
fairly complex, but I am hoping to answer it here and help you better
understand.
Basically the equation was designed so that all inputs worked in
tandem to calculate the consumption. Simply lowering the LER will
only result in an increase in kWh. To show lower consumption, all
specifications in the clothes washer input must be entered from the
Energy Guide Label.
I am first going to give you some values to use based on the
efficiency of the clothes washer. Maybe these will help with the
inputs to use.
HERS Default Values - these are the values used in REM as baseline
LER - 704
Ann Gas Cost - 23.0
$/kWh - 0.0803
$/Therm - 0.58
Capacity - 2.874
2008 ENERGY STAR values
LER - 487
Ann Gas Cost - 23.0
$/kWh - 0.0803
$/Therm - 0.688
Capacity - 3.2
ENERGY STAR minimum values
LER - 281
Ann Gas Cost - 14
$/kWh - 0.086
$/Therm - 0.91
Capacity - 3.5
ENERGY STAR average value
LER - 151
Ann Gas Cost - 12
$/kWh - 0.1065
$/Therm - 1.218
Capacity - 3.31
We plan to add a list box in the L&A screen for clothes washers so a
user can select the efficiency level of the clothes washer and the
values will be filled in automatically. Then if the Energy Guide
Labels exist for the installed clothes washer - all values should be
on the label.
I hope this helps the confusion a bit.