The Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing the pause button on a series of Biden-administration mandates aimed at making home appliances more efficient. Many of the rules were set to go into effect in the next three or four years.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has announced that the DOE would postpone the implementation of seven policies that would make many home appliances, including air conditioners, air compressors, light bulbs and washers and dryers, more energy efficient. Wright said in a press release that the Biden administration implemented “burdensome policies that have driven up costs, reduced choice and diminished the quality of Americans’ home appliances.”
The postponement of efficiency standards also affects general service lamps, walk-in freezers, gas instantaneous water heaters and commercial refrigeration equipment. Wright said that by not implementing the Biden administration rules, the Trump administration is fostering consumer choice and lower prices.
DOE also announced it was creating a new energy efficiency category for natural gas tankless water heaters. By creating this new category, DOE states that the low-cost water heaters are exempt from the Biden rules.
The Biden administration argued that the more stringent policies would help save energy and save consumers money. They would also be better for the environment by reducing dangerous emissions. Johanna Neumann, senior director of the campaign for 100% renewable energy at Environment America Research & Policy Center, said the updated standards for washing machines and clothes dryers that were slated to go into effect in 2028 were expected to avert 71 million metric tons of global warming pollution over 30 years. Neumann said that is the equivalent of taking more than 178 gas-fired power plants offline for a year.
“People agree that we can have clean clothes without needlessly wasting energy and water,” Neumann testified before the DOE in support of the new standards in 2023.
However, the new standards were expected to raise the cost of some appliances and eliminate some items. According to Fox News, the standards would have effectively prohibited new non-condensing gas furnaces by 2028. New condensing furnaces are more expensive. The rules would also raise the cost for new electric water heaters.
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has been instructed to reverse Biden administration rules that would require more energy-efficient lightbulbs to be produced by 2028. The Biden standards would reportedly have eliminated the incandescent lightbulb in favor of the more expensive, but longer-lasting and more efficient LED lightbulb.
President Donald Trump has long argued against LED lights, saying that incandescent lightbulbs are cheaper and are more flattering than LED lightbulbs.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) supported the DOE’s move to postpone the rules. In a press release, NAHB said it has been “advocating against efforts to limit the availability and use of gas stoves and will continue to support efforts to maintain a variety of home appliance options for consumers to help improve housing affordability.”
