Yay, pretty soon you won't be able to heat your home, eat in your home, cool your home.
Biden admin cracks down on another popular home appliance
The Biden administration unveiled a regulatory proposal late Friday targeting water heaters, the latest in a
string of energy efficiency actions cracking down on home appliances.
The Department of Energy (DOE) said its proposal would ultimately "accelerate deployment" of electric heat pump water heaters, save Americans billions of dollars and vastly reduce carbon emissions. If finalized, the proposed standards would force less energy efficient, but cheaper, water heaters off the market.
"Today’s actions — together with our industry partners and stakeholders — improve outdated efficiency standards for common household appliances, which is essential to slashing utility bills for American families and cutting harmful carbon emissions,"
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.
"This proposal reinforces the trajectory of consumer savings that forms the key pillar of Bidenomics and builds on the unprecedented actions already taken by this Administration to lower energy costs for working families across the nation," she continued.
Under the rule, the federal government would require higher efficiency for heaters using heat pump technology or, in the case of gas-fired water heaters, to achieve efficiency gains through condensing technology. Non-condensing gas-fired water heaters, though, are far cheaper and smaller, meaning they come with lower installation costs.
According to the DOE, water heating accounts for 13% of annual residential energy use and consumer utility costs.
In addition to water heaters, over the last several months, the DOE has unveiled new standards for a wide variety of other appliances including gas stoves, clothes washers, refrigerators and air conditioners. The agency's comment period on a
separate dishwasher regulatory proposal concluded Tuesday.
