With two weeks left in his administration, outgoing President Joe Biden is trying to solidify his climate legacy by restricting the sale of another common household appliance: gas-powered water heaters.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that the latest Department of Energy (DOE) energy efficiency rule was published around Christmas, but without a corresponding press release. If unchallenged, the final rule goes into effect in 2029 and could impact 40% of the new tankless water heater models sold in the U.S. One industry estimate forecasts Americans will pay an additional $450 for alternatives.
The Biden-Harris administration claimed consumers will save $1,800 on bills across the lifetime of new appliances and slash “332 million metric tons” of carbon dioxide. But I dug into the rule last year and found that high upfront costs far outweigh the perceived benefits. I explained at Washington Examiner last spring:
But the White House is being dishonest about the higher upfront costs associated with these alternative models. Electric varieties typically range in cost from $1,500 to $3,000 on the low end to $7,000 to $33,000 on the high end, respectively — excluding installation costs. In comparison, conventional models are less expensive, with a comparable $500 to $1,000 price range.
Once incoming President Donald J. Trump takes office on January 20th, it’s assumed he will issue an executive order to revoke Biden-era energy efficiency standards like this newly-finalized rule.
Courts have also previously ruled that some Biden-era household appliance bans are in violation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. In its rebuke of the Biden clothes and dishwasher rules last January, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded Congress never granted the DOE powers “to regulate water use for energy-using appliances.”
During the four years of the Biden-Harris administration, the average cost of making household appliances more environmentally-friendly was estimated to total $9,000 per family.
Several originally proposed Biden-era energy efficiency standards promoted climate-friendly models that, ironically, used more water and electricity. For instance, the original 2023 DOE dishwater rule would have forced manufacturers to produce models using 3.2 gallons of water per washing cycle, down from the existing five-gallon standard. A report suggested the original rule would result in new models having “27% less power” and “34% less water.”
The War on Household Appliances is likely coming to an end, especially if Congress takes action to reform the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. History won’t look back on these administrative acts kindly.
To learn more about DOE energy efficiency standards, go HERE.